Egg Disappears under Silkie

[PeteWPNY]

I have a broody silkie that I was able to obtain a few fertilized eggs locally for hatching. She had two eggs under her on day 22 yesterday. Late last night, around 11-12pm, I beleive one of the eggs was hatching, I could hear what sounded like an egg being cracked/zipped slowly and the hen was acting like something strange was going on underneath her. I went to bed, fully expecting a newly hatched chick this morning. When I woke up, no chick and only one egg was remaining underneath her. The second egg vanished without a trace. I keep her separate in a dog kennel in my garage, so no other chickens or predators could have bothered her. I have seen an occasional tiny field mouse in the garage in the past, but they are tiny, probably about the same size as a day old chick. What could have happened to the egg/chick. There are no egg shells or corpse left behind. Below is a photo of my setup:

 

[Jener8or]

Is this the hen's first time hatching eggs? I hope you have luck with her hatching the other one. Maybe there was possibly something wrong with the chick? I have never come across this in chickens (well eggs disappearing under broody hens, yes, just not pipped chicks and everything.)

Have you checked to see if the 2nd egg is viable? (I usually have mine hatch on day 21 or so . Best of luck; let us know how it turns out!

 

[PeteWPNY]

I am the third owner of this silkie, but I assume this is the first time she's tried to hatch chicks. I have had her for over a year. She is at least four years old, likely older than that. I doubt the final egg will hatch. What should I do at this point to break her broodiness? I don't want to get a fresh batch of eggs and wait another 3 weeks. It will start to get cold at night here when it's time for them to go outside permanently.

I am considering getting a few (1or2) day old chicks to try and slide under her at night, but not sure what the success rate would be for that.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

She says both eggs have disappeared.

Only two possibilities that I can think of. Either the hen ate both chicks. Or something got in and ate them. Rat? Weasel? Snake? In future, wrap the crate with hardware cloth, then if the eggs vanish you'll have no one but the hen to blame.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh, I misunderstood. One egg remains. Sorry.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

To break her broodiness you have to lower her body temperature. It's generally advised to put her in a crate with no nesting material and an open (mesh) bottom, set on blocks to provide air circulation all around and under her, for about 3 days and nights. There should be nothing in the crate but food, water, grit and a board or log for a roost. After 3 days, release her. If she goes back to her nest, repeat for another 3 days, generally that does it.

 

[Jener8or]

I always try to candle my eggs and then try floating them in water to check for movement before throwing them away (but it can be risky, because they *could* explode.)

Here is a good article for breaking broody hens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-break-a-broody-hen.65588/

I've had good luck with sneaking in chicks, as long as they aren't too old, and of course it depends on the hen. We are already getting into the 30s at night here and I have chicks still in the brooder, too! Thankfully, once they are fully feathered, they seem to tolerate the chill. I hope all goes well, whatever you decide to do!

 

[Egg Snatcher]

I have a broody silkie that I was able to obtain a few fertilized eggs locally for hatching. She had two eggs under her on day 22 yesterday. Late last night, around 11-12pm, I beleive one of the eggs was hatching, I could hear what sounded like an egg being cracked/zipped slowly and the hen was acting like something strange was going on underneath her. I went to bed, fully expecting a newly hatched chick this morning. When I woke up, no chick and only one egg was remaining underneath her. The second egg vanished without a trace. I keep her separate in a dog kennel in my garage, so no other chickens or predators could have bothered her. I have seen an occasional tiny field mouse in the garage in the past, but they are tiny, probably about the same size as a day old chick. What could have happened to the egg/chick. There are no egg shells or corpse left behind. Below is a photo of my setup:
View attachment 3929839

Ive had this happen to me. I still dont know is its the mice or something else. I would get a couple chicks and slip them under her at night. This way she will think she hatched them. With the last egg you should candle the egg to see if its alive