Broody hen stopped setting

[Ladyerat]

So a couple weeks ago, Evana, our little black sex-link went broody and started setting. We've had 7 eggs under her and suddenly she's stopped setting! The longest she would come out was to eat drink poop and back in she'd go. She's been out much longer for the last 2 days and we're not sure she's set them much at all. Idk if it's been warm enough in the coop that she felt it was ok to leave them or what but with it being two days we decided to pull the eggs. Idk if they're still alive or not some are definitely much further along in development than we thought compared to the others. Can I save them? I don't have an incubator. Help!?

 

[Ridgerunner]

How is that hen behaving? Is she sleeping on the nest at night or is she roosting somewhere else? Is she still broody?

If she is still broody, trust her. I've had hens come off the nest two times a day for over an hour each time and still get great hatches. Is she is sleeping somewhere else at night, well your only option is an incubator.

 

[aart]

Have you candled eggs to see if they are developing?

 

[Ladyerat]

@Ridgerunner, she doesn't seem to be nesting on them anymore and she's been off them for far longer than just an hour or 2. More like most of the day.
@aart, yes we've candled them and some are really developed and others just started. I'd say we have 2 that are about the 2wk mark and 2 that were maybe a week and the others somewhere in between. I candled each several times but I can't tell if they're still alive. Two are EE's and they're the furthest along. All I can tell thru the green shells is a big embrionic blob.
Would I be able to get away with a heating pad for a few days or so until I can lay my hands on an incubator?

 

[centrarchid]

Hens will spend more time off nest when temperatures high and / or finding enough food or water difficult. Best confirmation of broodiness for me is she returns before dark.

Generally, if a hen breaks "spontaneously" from being broody, then it usually not a function of egg fertility during the first 20+ says. Hens can give up for health reasons as brooding is physically demanding. They can also give up if disturbed by a predator where hen comes to think here nest site is no longer a secrete. Another possibility is she has been bothered too much as you check on her. Pullets in my experience are much more likely to abandon a clutch than a more mature hen.

 

[chickens really]

Possibly she is being pushed off buy the other Hens. If she is getting stressed she won't set. I move my Broodys and eggs to a private Brooder so she is stress free.

 

[Ladyerat]

Thanks for all the help and great suggestions. The eggs were no longer viable. We're investing in an incubator and I'm thinking it's probably much to do with being bothered by the other hens as we tried to leave her alone as much as possible. Altho I'm sure we, in our eagerness, contributed. They, however, seemed to think where she was nesting was the ideal place to also lay their eggs. After thinking about it more I also remembered pulling another hen off of Evana more than once bc she was picking at her.
We'll see how it goes from here.