An egg was broken, some are slightly dirty

[BayBay Peepers]

A while back one of my buff orpingtons went broody. I tried to get her out of it, but eventually she convinced me that I should just let her try. At first she didn't stay in one nest. Every day I came home she'd be in a new on sitting on all new eggs. I tried to put her in a single coop by herself and she sat for a bit then went bat sh** crazy. I let her out and she ran to the main coop. For about a week she stayed in one nest on the same four eggs. Today she was on a new nest. One of her eggs was broken, was was very much covered in yolk, and two are just slightly dirty. Like a spot or two of yolk. Should I start over or can the two be salvaged? Tonight I plan to try to stick her in the single coop. (my failed attempt was early in the morning) Can I try to use the two eggs or should I put the new ones that she's sitting on now in there. It was pretty cool outside today and I don't know how long they have been without her body heat. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

 

[Moody Broody]

Do whatever feels better to you, but personally I would continue with the eggs. Without annoying the broody too much, get her spot cleaned up. (With experience, my broodies have never abandoned the nest when I have done this.)
If the eggs are too sticky, and claggy gently wipe them off with a dampened cloth with warm water and dry them and put them in front of her/under her.
Remember that she has to turn them, so if they are too sticky they will stick to the hay, and never get turned, resulting in them dying.
Personally in my experience, when my broody needed a little 'motivation' to get on the nest, I had just picked her up and put her just in front, and she could resist the temptation to sit on those eggs.
But if you're not going with that, just continue to turn them over every now and then to prevent them from sticking to the sides until she decides to sit on them.
Good luck!

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Should I try to set her up in a seperate spot? Or leave her and worry about moving her if the eggs hatch. The nest is kinda high for a chick. I think I'll stick with two eggs...I accidentally broke one and it was definitely fertile (poor thing)

 

[Moody Broody]

Sorry might be a bit late-
Yes I recommend moving them to a separate nest because chicks and eggs can fall...
A rabbit hutch will suffice until they are too big.
Good luck, sorry this might be a bit late

 

[BayBay Peepers]

I did end up moving her and the eggs. I candled them at seven days and there were definitely babies in there. I put her in a single coop and she stayed about a week and a half then gave up. She became so frantic I just let her out and she hasn't tried to sit on an egg since. Kind of a bummer, I was really hoping to get some chicks from my own group instead of buying them. Maybe next time

 

[donrae]

I was bummed to see she gave up, I wanted to see how the hatch went! I have a broody that started with 7 eggs and broke one...one egg was pretty heavily soiled with yolk. I just used my nail on it to scrape off what I could and stuck it back under her. I'm wondering if the yolk will cause issues....guess I'll let ya know in a few weeks...

 

[BayBay Peepers]

I hope sometime down the line I'll get another chance. I would really like to see a mix from my buff orpington rooster and a white leghorn just out of curiosity. Other than that I just love having buffs around and I think it would be so neat to watch a hen raise up some chicks rather than me