Broody hen that was hiding out for a week

[229Mick]

So I've got a broody chicken with an interesting disappearing act... We had someone letting the chickens in and out last week while on vacation, and she said one of the chickens went missing on Tuesday. Today, it showed back up again. I later saw it had gotten over the inner fence (keeping the chickens in the chicken yard and out of the people yard) and wandered into the scrub around the pond. She stayed there for the last hour or so, so I checked under her (and she was ******) and found a couple eggs there. Since we have a rooster, I'm thinking I might just want to let her hatch them if they are fertilized or whatever we say. So the question is, is there an easy way to check the eggs to see if they are fertilized or whatever? If she's leaving them to get food, will they still work out? What is the % of eggs that make it in normal circumstances (when they're not manually incubated etc). Thanks for any input!

 

[Chicken Girl1]

Here are some articles on hatching chicks with a broody hen. A lot of people hatch chicks with broody hens and not incubators. How long does she live the nest?
Letting Broody Hens Hatch & Raise Chicks

Broody Hens

 

[229Mick]

Thanks for the input. She stays on them all the time, in the last week, nobody was here to watch, but the person who was letting them out and in for us never saw her. We got back on Friday, and never saw her till yesterday (Monday), and the place she's holed up is right outside my office window, so I think she's been staying put all day. So I guess the questions now are;
1) Should I move her to somewhere, or just let her stay in the scrub where she's at? She seems QUITE intent on not being bothered, touched or moved, so if it's safe to leave her, I'm inclined to.
2) Should I try to candle the eggs? I know we can see the chick in there at around 10 days, which will be this weekend, so I'm wondering if I should try to check them...
3) If they are not fertilized and/or developing, can eggs that sat under her for 10 days be consumed or should I chuck them in the compost pile?

Thanks again!

Mick