I have a wyandotte that's always excelled in finding the most inconvenient spot to sleep or lay eggs but she has really outdone herself this time, she's managed to create a secret nest in a ditch between a wall and a bank of loose sand that threatens to cave in every time I approach her. To make matters worse it slopes downhill, she originally had a clutch of eggs at the lowest point and then laid a second batch a foot or so up the slope. I initially removed the unattended eggs and the next day she had somehow moved her eggs downhill to the original nest. In the first week she left the nest for at least an hour and the eggs were cold to the touch, I didn't stress as they were infertile but I've now put 10 eggs from leghorns and hyline browns under her. They're very large eggs but she's a large chicken and I've heard of people hatching 12-15 eggs so I thought it would be fine. I placed them in the higher nest as it seemed bigger but on the second day 1 had rolled downhill. I placed it next to her to see if she would take it and the next day she had once again transported the entire nest a foot or so downhill. No more eggs rolling away I guess but she's sitting awkwardly and there always seems to be 1-2 eggs not being covered, I've attached a couple of photos so you can see what I mean. I've noticed they seem to be different eggs so she's clearly rotating them but when I put my hands on the uncovered eggs they are cold to the touch. We've had a spate of hot days between 30-35 degrees celsius so I wasn't stressing too much but now it looks like some cooler weather, maybe even rain coming. Should I bite the bullet and remove a couple of eggs to save the rest and how long can an egg be left uncovered before dying?
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