Brood hen abandoned eggs

[PoppasGrill]

Our brood hen ,after setting on eggs for 2.5-3 weeks, and being very protective of her clutch, left her eggs last evening. Looks, and smells ,like some eggs were broken and some were buried in the straw.
She’s out running around in the pasture and hasn’t gone back to the nest .
We’ve only been successful in brood hatching 10-15 chicks in the past year, due to predators , but this is the first time a hen has just left the nest altogether.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Our brood hen ,after setting on eggs for 2.5-3 weeks, and being very protective of her clutch, left her eggs last evening. Looks, and smells ,like some eggs were broken and some were buried in the straw.
She’s out running around in the pasture and hasn’t gone back to the nest .
We’ve only been successful in brood hatching 10-15 chicks in the past year, due to predators , but this is the first time a hen has just left the nest altogether.

Do you have an incubator? They would only have a handful of days before hatching.

 

[PoppasGrill]

Do you have an incubator? They would only have a handful of days before hatching.

No, we’ve been discussing getting a small one. Reviews are varied so haven’t been able to make the choice on which to get.
The eggs were cold when we figured out she wasn’t returning to the nest. Hate to say it, but we dumped the eggs.
Was concerned on why she left them after putting in that much time and effort.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Ugh, I'm sorry. Here's a cheap one that has worked for me. Magicfly Digital Mini Fully... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KD75VHW?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Perhaps she knew the eggs weren't viable?

 

[Kiki]

No, we’ve been discussing getting a small one. Reviews are varied so haven’t been able to make the choice on which to get.
The eggs were cold when we figured out she wasn’t returning to the nest. Hate to say it, but we dumped the eggs.
Was concerned on why she left them after putting in that much time and effort.

Take the remaining eggs inside into a dark closet and use your phone flashlight to shine it into the fat end of the egg... See if he see anything growing in them.
There's no telling why she left them but it's possible she left them because they all died already or they weren't fertile to begin with.