Bad egg under broody hen?

[LLvida]

Hey group!
First time using a broody hen for incubating purchased fertilized eggs. She is doing a fantastic job, I actually have to gently get her off the nest daily or I don’t think she would pause to eat or drink.

I already pulled one egg out that had a little secretions and not great smell and it was definitely bad when I checked it (yuck!). I smell each egg every few days and now have another that seems a little off…the others smell like a hen sits on them but this is earlier in a different way. But I’m not 100% sure… And these are all very dark maran eggs so I can’t candle. Hatch date is in 1 week.

What would you do? Egg is furthest front and left in the group clutch. Number is grams at beginning of fertilization…so I could weigh it again and compare? Can’t remember if they gain or lose weight by this point in fertilization.

Thanks!
Laura

 

[Debbie292d]

They lose as they grow, but I don't know if that's the case if it rotted or not. I know the smell you speak of.

If it's not so smelly, could you just give it one more day to be sure? I know you want it out of there, but unless she detects it herself, it should be all right. It should smell worse/stronger as it goes.

Nobody wants to tell anyone to toss an egg that might have a chance!

 

[LLvida]

I feel the same! This is a first time hatching for the hen. Will they really kick a bad egg out? The nesting box is tight so other then kicking it to the floor I don’t know what she would do to it!

 

[NatJ]

I feel the same! This is a first time hatching for the hen. Will they really kick a bad egg out? The nesting box is tight so other then kicking it to the floor I don’t know what she would do to it!

She might shove it into a corner of the nestbox, if she does not want it underneath her.

(I do not know whether she actually will try to kick out a bad egg or not, but I have occasionally seen eggs shoved into a corner of a nestbox, well away from the hen and the other eggs.)