First Timer Broody Hen Questions

[kenya]

Take her out of the crate and remove the eggs that will encourage her to give up being broody. Sorry you didn't get any chicks, must have been infertile eggs.

[Killerbunny]

Oh sorry. Perhaps another year?

[amberalora]

Yes, hopefully next year. I'm surprised the eggs were no good, I only had two hens in with the rooster and I've seen him breed them both. Maybe the genetics are too close on my two Wyandottes. Or like I said before, maybe they had been on the counter too long.

I have 3 Wyandotte pullets that are not related that will be going in with the flock, so hopefully we have better luck next year. I will learn how to candle eggs too so we don't repeat this :)

Thanks for all of your help everyone, I feel a lot better prepared to try again next time!

[Jaye]

Is it possible that your rooster is infertile? How old is he?

[amberalora]

He is a year old, so are my hens. I bought them as day olds last July. How common is infertility?

[Ontario Chick]

Did you candle the eggs to find out if the eggs were actually clear?
Or if some development started and then for whatever reason stopped?

[Jaye]

I agree with OC, the way to confirm whether the eggs were actually clear (infertile) is to candle at some point during incubation, or to open up the eggs after you removed them post-incubation.
I'm not sure how common or uncommon infertility in roosters is, but infertility does increase as roosters age. Since your rooster is only a year old, the chance of infertility is not high.

[amberalora]

I opened them up last night when I took them out of the coop. There was no development at all.

I should have tried candling them earlier in incubation but I assumed that at least some of them would be fertile and I’d just let the hen do her thing and see what we ended up with. Lesson learned.

[Jaye]

Hmmm. I'm just spit-balling here now, but when you opened the eggs up, did you by any chance notice any blastodiscs or balstoderms on any of the yolks?
I don't know if it's even possible that there would be, because I've never actually looked for that post-incubation, but if they were, then that might be a way to determine if they were fertilized.

[Killerbunny]

Bikini wax for all!