[sancraft]

My chicken has been setting six eggs for I know at least three weeks. When are they going to hatch? I gently shook the eggs to see if there were even chicks inside, and the eggs sound full. But, still no chicks. What's wrong?

 

[Terri]

Gently take an egg into the bathroom, turn out the light, and shine a flashlight through it. The flashlight should be touching the egg. The egg should be sort of between the flashlight and you. It takes a bit of practice to get it right, but once you do you should be able to see if there is anything in the egg or not.

Unless the eggs are brown or green. I never HAVE been able to candle any opf the green eggs, and brown is harder to see into than white!

Lastly, always handle an incubating egg gently. Don't shake.

 

[OD]

What do you mean by "sound full"? If they feel like they are sloshing, it means they aren't going to hatch. When you candle them, you shouldn't be able to see any light at all through them after this much time has passed, because the egg should be full of chicken.

 

[sancraft]

That's what I mean. The egg sounds full of chicken. Nothing's sloshing or moving.

 

[OD]

I forgot to tell you that you should see an air pocket on one end when you candle them. If they don't slosh, they should hatch.