egg hatching question

[bookwormom]

anyone know if eggs kept in the refrigerator will not hatch? they are from free ranging chickens, husband put some under a biddy and she has been setting on eggs that are rotting,

[bee_pipes]

Some can last even longer. Guineas will lay until they have a clutch of 20 eggs, if left to their own devices. I guess they must be turning them.

When I saw the question last night, I tried looking the information up in Storey's. Nothing about refrigeration destroying the viability of eggs - maybe they assume it goes without saying?

To hold eggs for hatching, they recommend keeping them at room temperature and turning them periodically so the yolk won't stick. I keep them in a carton while collecting them, and have a piece of wood that goes under the end of the carton to keep it at an angle. Once or twice a day the stick gets moved to the other end of the carton.

Regards,
Pat

[CarolAnn]

Take all eggs from the biddy, if some are rotting; you don't want to replace them until she's had a chance to get strong again. Maybe you already know this about chickens? Some hens will sit on their own eggs until they hatch, never getting off for food and water, which makes them very weak by the time the chicks hatch.

My friend had a hen do this, and lost her when another hen abandoned her eggs for the new chicks. The biddy got on the eggs that hadn't hatched yet, but she couldn't go that long without water and perished.

My mom told me at the time that he could have saved her by putting food and water very close to the nest for her, but he never bothered.