a sad learning moment.

[Cryss]

I posted a thread titled “Possible broody? Might have to relocate!”
This hen was off and on 9 eggs so I wasn’t sure about her commitment. She was on them at night but in the day she’d be off. I marked them because when she was off other hens would lay in that nest. I’m sure that kept them warm too. The original eggs had been laid between 4/24-4/25.
In the dead of night 4/27 I moved her and her eggs to a place she could have some privacy. 4/28 we left her alone even though she was always outside the broody coop and didn’t seem like she was into it. Later in the afternoon about 3 pm she went inside. 4/29 she was outside again. I looked in on the eggs to find she had laid 2 eggs. One must have been from the day before. Knowing she wasn’t broody I let her join the flock and collected all eggs.
I have no broody so today, 4/30, I decided that these eggs possibly were bad since they didn’t have a broody mom. I decided to cook them up for the flock. When I had one broken yolk with a blood spot I wasn’t surprised. The second broken blood spotted yolk did surprise me a bit. Then the third yolk didn’t break.

All 9 eggs had the circle ️. Broken yolks made them just look like a spot.

I don’t have an incubator or I wouldn’t have continued to crack them open after the third with a circle. I am supposing that if I had tried to wait a few days for a possible broody these wouldn’t have survived to hatch or if they did they would have been too fragile to survive. I’ll have to wait till I have my broody mama and start again. I also am supposing if I had kept the hen with the eggs perhaps she would have “accidentally” hatched them. I doubt they could have been viable AND I don’t trust that she would have raised chicks she hadn’t actually brooded with intent. She probably would have killed them.
Those of you with experience here, am I thinking correctly on this? Or could I have saved them or left them with her? I am anxious to learn.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I would have pulled them too. Sounds like she wasn't fully broody, or at least not reliably broody. It's best to collect eggs and wait until you have one that is near impossible to pry off the nest, than give her eggs in a secluded or isolated spot.

The good thing is your eggs weren't too far along. It's worse when you find an embryo when disposing of eggs.

 

[Cryss]

I would have pulled them too. Sounds like she wasn't fully broody, or at least not reliably broody. It's best to collect eggs and wait until you have one that is near impossible to pry off the nest, than give her eggs in a secluded or isolated spot.

The good thing is your eggs weren't too far along. It's worse when you find an embryo when disposing of eggs.

Thank you, that is reassuring. Yes I’ll be waiting for a full broody gal. My BO goes full broody twice a year but shows no signs yet this year. She’s 3.5 yo now. One good thing is that I know what this looks like. I’ve always wondered how different they would look from a simple blood spot. I doubt I’ll ever have to worry about finding embryos. I collect eggs several times a day and wouldn’t let them go further than these in a similar situation. I’m really glad to hear you would have done the same thing with the eggs. I worried someone would have said I should have tried to continue or to get an incubator. Maybe sometime but right now I don’t feel I’m ready to try incubation. Let a mama do that.