Eggs just exploded? Non-fertile?

Today find out under broody hen from 11 eggs now are only 8.

Can fertile egg blow up in hot time under hen?

I guess those eggs were not fertile.

Fertility has nothing to do with it. An incubating egg is perfect for bacteria growth. The temperature is just right and the egg itself provided tremendous nutrients for bacteria to eat. Many bacteria cultures grown in laboratories are egg-based.

What happens is that bacteria gets inside the eggs. When the hen lays an egg the last thing she puts on it is a coating called bloom. That bloom dries pretty fast but is why they look wet when the egg is first laid. That bloom helps keep bacteria out while letting the porous egg breathe. Bloom is not perfect but it works really well.

If the bloom is removed it is easier for bacteria to get inside. If you wash the eggs, sandpaper them, or rub off dirt you can remove bloom. Sometimes something interferes with the bloom when the egg is first laid and before it dries. If there is some poop, dirt, or mud in the nest, that can interfere with the bloom. Sometimes nesting material gets stuck to the wet egg and causes problems. Dirty eggs can be a problem. Normally a real light dusting isn’t a big problem but the dirtier it is the more likely you are to have a problem. Handling the eggs with wet, oily, or dirty hands can also cause a problem.

Once bacteria gets inside it will grow, whether the egg is fertile or not. If there is a chick growing in there, it will kill the chick. Sometimes these eggs explode and sometimes they seep. They are pretty nasty.

What do the other eggs look like, the eight that are left? Do they have egg on them or are they clean? How long have those eggs been under her?

If an egg did get bacteria in in it and broke, the other eggs should have egg on them and it will probably stink pretty badly. That rotten egg smell is horrible.

If there is basically no bad smell but the other eggs have egg on them, a few things are possible. A thin shelled egg may have broken, maybe from interference with another hen laying with her or more likely just from her puncturing the egg with her claws while walking on them or turning them. Sometimes a broody hen will eat the shell or clean her nest out. Sometimes hat stuff gets pushed down into the bedding. You may need to change out to clean bedding. It’s also possible a rat or something ate the eggs out from under her. If the eggs are covered with egg you probably should totally change out the bedding and wash the eggs. Washing the eggs is not good but it’s better than leaving them covered with egg. You may need to wash the broody’s chest too as it might have raw egg goop on it. It’s a mess when that happens. Depending on how far you are into the incubation you might want to just clean everything up and start with fresh eggs or break the broody.

If you can see the egg shells and they are pretty thin, this is likely the root cause of your problem. Thin shells can break pretty easily. I once had a hen that would lay thin shelled eggs no matter how much calcium she ate. There was something genetically wrong with her in the way her body processed the calcium. Try real hard not to incubate the real thin eggs. How you do that I’m not sure. Once I identified which hen it was I ate her and the problem went away. She did cost me a hatch though.

If the other eggs are clean, I strongly suspect a snake is eating the eggs out from under the broody. I’ve had that happen. I think if anything bad can happen it has happened. I guess that’s called experience. Anyway, a snake would visit, eat three or four eggs depending in its size, and go away for two or three days while it digested them. Then it would come back for more. It might come at night or in the middle of the day. The reason I know it was a snake is that I saw it in the nest with the broody. Creepy!

There could be something else going on, but whatever it is, your problem is not fertility. Good luck figuring it out.

Thanks for your time and information.
Today was 6th day when she sit.
I bought 8 eggs, breakels, hamburgs, brahma, jersey giant. and put 3 my hens eggs. , All mines are allright.
There was a egg shell over one egg, and that egg was with yolk.
In the place she sit broody, was a bit stinky, that smell with half embryonated egg, or as I guess incubated non-fertile egg. I think when you incubate non-fertile egg, the egg fills and are like time bomb. I guess she ate the egg shells, cause only egg shell there was, was the one who was over other egg.

There is no big mess under hen. All +/- looks allright, Im gonna let nature take its course. I always do my best to make the best conditions for my birds I can.
If I need to do cleaning and all other shi*, then at once maybe I shoud sit on eggs. From me I give eggs to hens responibility. There was other broody which poop bit on egg, and nests side, one egg was dirty, I cleaned all as I can.. Gonna watch what will hapen there. Next weekend should hatch...


This is how it is always. I give broody hens a chicken feed to get all nutrients in small amount of food. + Need to have hens a strong poop, not watery, but its mostly, I guess, how healthy hen is.

P.S, mby bad was that egg was market with felt-tip pen?