Broody hen destroying eggs! Help!

[BelovedBirds]

So I've completely emptied out the coop bedding and added all new. Just did that last week, but the smell... Wow. No one wants to use the nesting box now. I hope this helps. My garden will like the icky bedding and the compost got the rest of the destroyed eggs. Did I mention the smell? Good Lord!
This is the incubator someone here recommended this type. So far it works great! I tried to clean the eggs without washing it damaging them. Are they ok? Should I do something else to get the dried pine chip and broken yolk off of them?

how did you wash them, and what day are they on?

 

[GigitheBackyardHerbilist]

how did you wash them, and what day are they on?

As of today they are on day 16.i just wiped them down best I could and picked off what I could.

 

[TOR]

I would not wash them myself. Just curious the shells are hard, not getting some soft egg shells?

 

[GigitheBackyardHerbilist]

I would not wash them myself. Just curious the shells are hard, not getting some soft egg shells?

They are hard. Not soft. I'm getting nervous tomorrow is three day count down. I'm taking all advice. I'm excited and terrified.

 

[TOR]

Goodluck hope everything turns out

 

[GigitheBackyardHerbilist]

Goodluck hope everything turns out

Thanks! We're on day 19.

 

[Jojosine]

Hi
the same is happening to me:
16 days ago we stuck 12 eggs under a broody
after a couple of days she had removed 2 eggs, but didn't eat them, so I guessed they weren't fertile. Then we found one with a hole in it and it had a developing embryo inside.

But since a couple of days she seems to eat one every night/early morning!

She goes out several times a day to eat, drink, poop and we've even put a bowl with food inside the coop in case she got the munchies when the coop is closed at night, but it's not helping.

We are now down to 6 eggs (from 12) and just a few days to go before they hatch, what else can I do??
Is she just extremely clumsy and breaks an egg every time she goes back on the nest and then just decides to eat it? Or has she turned cannibalistic?

Any help/advice is appreciated

 

[Obsessed With Silkies]

At this point I'd remove what remaining eggs are left and if you have an incubator I would put them in there to complete the incubation period.

 

[Jojosine]

We don't have an incubator (I asked my colleague to borrow his, but he kept forgetting to bring it in). Hopefully our neighbour still has a broody hen which we could 'borrow', but I don't know yet.

 

[Tonyroo]

If you don't change things up you will lose the remaining eggs.