Broody Hen, no hatching

[Grind Hard Farm]

I bought an incubator last month on the 8th. One of my hens, Humble, went broody during that week. Humble is currently sitting on 25 eggs. Last week, I found a broken egg, I inspected it, and saw some development. She's been sitting on some eggs since May 9th and also new eggs. So it's old eggs stacked on top of new eggs. My question is should I bring the eggs in, candle them, and those who are alive, put them in an incubator?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That nest is probably a mess. Most hens can't properly cover, and turn more than 8-10 eggs. They may begin developing than stop.

I would definitely candle the eggs and see what's going on. Staggered hatches are never good as the hen will leave the nest about 2 days after the first hatches. So it's best to mark eggs and remove extras if you can't separate the hen.

Broken eggs will add bacteria to the eggs and they begin to rot. Be careful handling them just in case.

 

[Grind Hard Farm]

That nest is probably a mess. Most hens can't properly cover, and turn more than 8-10 eggs. They may begin developing than stop.

I would definitely candle the eggs and see what's going on. Staggered hatches are never good as the hen will leave the nest about 2 days after the first hatches. So it's best to mark eggs and remove extras if you can't separate the hen.

Broken eggs will add bacteria to the eggs and they begin to rot. Be careful handling them just in case.

Thanks! I'll do that

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thanks! I'll do that

Hope you find some you can give back to her that look similar in development.