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26 days How long is too long setting on eggs?

17 years ago

Hello. I have a cochin who has been setting on eggs 26 days now. I'm sure it is safe to assume they are not going to hatch. But I have read they can go longer. But how long ?? Would hate to tell her time's up if I was only a day or so short.

Also I have another cochin who is actually sitting on a 2nd set of eggs. Been little over 2 weeks - think she will stay with it ??

Have never been down this road before.

Thanks for your advice. I have very slow dial up and am at work with no time to search archives - hope I am not repeating a question.

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Comments (5)

seamommy
17 years ago
Take the eggs out from under your hen one at a time and very gently shake them. If they sound like there is water in them, they're rotten and you should discard them. If you have a strong flashlight, you could try to candle them to see if there's a chick in there. If they're close to hatching sometimes you can hear the chick peeping inside by holding it up to your ear. And sometimes if they're already rotten you can smell the stench without any of these tests. If you can smell rotten eggs in your hen house, don't bother to test the eggs, just very carefully remove them and let your hen have a couple of eggs from the other nest box.

Cheryl
velvet_sparrow
17 years ago
The normal incubation period for chicken eggs is 21 days. I always give my eggs three days beyond that to allow any late bloomers to hatch. By 26 days, safe to say the eggs are no good.

You can candle the eggs as seamommy suggested, but I would be really hesitant to shake the eggs--rotten eggs can break (!) and viable eggs can be killed by the shaking, which would be a heartbreak after being so close to hatch. You can listen for peeping and also closely watch an egg for movement...

Your second bird, if I read right, is at around 14 days? There's no way to tell if she's going to stick with it--you know your birds better than anyone. Best you can do is leave her to it and try not to disturb her. You can have an incubator fired up and standing by just in case she does abandon them. Cochins are pretty darned good setters, though, so chances are excellent she'll see it through. :)

If you click on my 'My Page' link, there is a link to my chicken info site, it may help also. You need to be VERY sure to provide protection for the chicks and mom from jealous hens and predators.

Good luck & have fun! :)

Velvet ~:>
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dunwaukin
17 years ago
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I have two other hens who soiled their eggs. I left them on just in case, but at about the 26 day mark, they just up and left the eggs behind, without looking back. So I guess the hens know what's going on underneath them.
I found that if there is a cold spell, it takes longer. Shouldn't, but does.
velvet_sparrow
17 years ago
Congrats on the chicks! :)

Velvet ~:>

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