Snow White, our broody white cochin hen is doing a great job with her clutch of eggs. She is brooding indoors in a large cage. Snow White is looking much healthier than when we first brought her indoors to brood. She was getting overheated outdoors and not taking proper care of herself, her comb was pale and she looked to be losing weight. Today is approx. day 9/10 for her eggs so I decided to candle them. I was able to candle 8 of her 10 eggs while Snow White was up and eating. Of those 10 I found 4 definite chicks developing, 3 definite not fertilized just regular eggs, 1 probably not developing but since I wasn't 100 % sure I left it and 2 eggs that I didn't get a chance to check before Miss broody wanted to sit on her nest again.
Since 3 eggs were definite for not fertilized I was able to remove them, I opened those eggs and yes indeed just normal unfertilized eggs. It will be more comfortable for Snow White now that she has a few less eggs to cover. I set 10 since I know we are only having limited fertilization in the large fowl flock.
I marked the eggs that I was able to check. Hopefully I can get to the final 2 eggs later today or tomorrow. It's a good idea to discard eggs that aren't developing, especially in hot weather, since they can become rotten and not only smell but add bacteria to the nest.
Here is the happy mama hen and her clutch of eggs just about at the halfway point!
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