ARE THESE EGGS GARBAGE NOW?

[CuteChicks4Life]

So my hen went broody she spent two days laying on her eggs. She gets off in the morning to eat and drink then she goes back on. This morning however she went back in to the wrong nesting box and the eggs were left unattended for a good 8 hours until I got home from work and moved her back onto her eggs. ARE THESE EGGS GARBAGE NOW?

 

[JaeG]

Not necessarily. Eggs can be amazingly resilient so I would keep them under her and candle them in a few days. How far along are they? If you can see veins they are still good.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Hard to say, they could still be okay. I check my broodies often because returning to the wrong nestbox is something that happens often when they are setting in the nestboxes. I would candle the eggs at about 7-10 days to look for development, you should see blood vessels by than.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Were the eggs still warm when you put her back?
When were the eggs laid?
Have you tried candling them?

 

[lazy gardener]

No, they are not. During early days of incubation, it's possible to suspend incubation for a period of time. When the eggs are brought back to incubation temp, development continues. Your hatch will most likely be delayed a day.

Moving forward, I suggest that you separate her and her nest from the rest of the flock so this does not happen again.

 

[Jetblack2004]

I suggest candling them.

 

[CuteChicks4Life]

This would of been the third day that she has been sitting on them.

 

[CuteChicks4Life]

yeah thanks for the advice.. I will try and candle them tonight. I was going to move her after work today but apparently that wasn't fast enough

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm not sure if you will see anything at 3 days. I would wait to candle.

 

[ronott1]

This would of been the third day that she has been sitting on them.

Like @lazy gardener posted, early in incubation they so into a suspended state. You can safely pop them into an incubator or under the broody again.

Follow the advice to separate the hen from the other nest boxes