[curries]

Is there any need to disturb my broody to candle her eggs or will she know instinctively which ones are to keep and which to bin?

[evie2]

I thought it was intended more for incubators the broodies, happy to be proven wrong though.

As a first time hatcher, I'm leaving it to the broody

[orchardlady]

I've never bothered under a broody but when you get her off her clutch of eggs for her twice daily constitutional you could do it then. I make my broodies get off their eggs for about 10 -15 minutes twice a day to eat drink and stretch their legs and that should be plenty of time to do the candling.

Orchardlady

[joyfull]

I never candle under broodies either 

[curries]

Thanks, I don't think I will bother then, leave it upto her.  I have been taking her out twice a day as i am convinced she would never move if I didn't, my friend says I am barmy and i should leave her alone completely.

[bastonjock]

 I leave mine alone,after getting in the way of my dog having her pups,i have found it quite amaizing how creatures instinctively know what to do.I have put corn and water in feeders down in the run and she goes when she feels the need.

[hillfooter]

I found one of my hens, a bantam, trying to sit on 18 eggs a couple of months ago and as obviously she couldn't cover that many (she'd dug a hole which she'd managed to fill with eggs) I removed her to a broody coop and selected the topmost 7 eggs.  I did candle these but only to reduce their number as she still had too many really and I was unsure if they were fertile and would develop.  Otherwise I wouldn't normally bother but if you do want to reduce the number you can candle them. 

A hen does know at hatch time if they are live or not and in my case, this time, although all 7 candled positive only 4 hatched.  Once she had these chicks the hen removed the other eggs from the nest as obviously she knew the others weren't going to hatch.

HF