First time broody hen!

[ana2707]

Be aware that some hens will not accept a move; others could be flown to a different continent and still keep on brooding.

I think I'm gonna leave her in the same spot just put her in a small kennel.... Is it okay to touch her eggs to put them in there? And no one has said anything about the small cracks I saw in 3 of the eggs. Is this okay?

 

[junebuggena]

I think I'm gonna leave her in the same spot just put her in a small kennel.... Is it okay to touch her eggs to put them in there? And no one has said anything about the small cracks I saw in 3 of the eggs. Is this okay?

Cracked eggs are not good candidates for hatching. Eggs should be fairly clean and undamaged. If the shell is compromised, bacteria can enter. She won't be happy about you moving her eggs around, but she will still sit on them. I candle all my 'broody' eggs periodically to track development. I remove any undeveloped eggs after day 10. I mark air cells just like I do with my incubator eggs.

 

[nchls school]

Touching eggs is fine, but wash/dry your hands first. Eggs with cracks should not be used for incubation-damaged. Give her new solid/intact eggs that are fertile.

 

[ana2707]

...

Cracked eggs are not good candidates for hatching. Eggs should be fairly clean and undamaged. If the shell is compromised, bacteria can enter. She won't be happy about you moving her eggs around, but she will still sit on them. I candle all my 'broody' eggs periodically to track development. I remove any undeveloped eggs after day 10. I mark air cells just like I do with my incubator eggs. 
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I've never gotten cracked eggs from my hens before so im assuming it happened from her sitting, do you know why this would happen?

 

[junebuggena]

Some hens can be a bit clumsy when moving their eggs around, it's possible that she broke them. How many does she have?

 

[ana2707]

Some hens can be a bit clumsy when moving their eggs around, it's possible that she broke them. How many does she have?

She had 8, 2 of which weren't under her very well and I saw cracks so I tossed them. Then I watched her get up for water and noticed of the 6 left, 3 had cracks but I left them because she was sitting on them so im not sure what to do with them now. I think I may give it a week and candle them to see if I see development and give them a fighting chance.

 

[junebuggena]

The barrier that protects them from bacteria has been compromised. If left, those eggs may contaminate the good eggs that she still has.

 

[Chelbertina]

Wow. This sounds so familiar. My husband got me rir hens this year so I'm a new chicken owner as well for the first time, we seem to live in the same area of the same temperature ranges, and I have my first broody hen that I'm trying to figure out if it's ok in the winter. Lol. (And I had a lot of the same questions you had- so thanks for asking! Will be following this thread)

 

[Chelbertina]

So... I just came home to find that my broody hen had been kicked off of her nest- and the 4 eggs under her spot were very cold. It's in the 60's. I candled them be don't see much o anything at all. Throw them away or stick them in the incubator?