Broody hens egg broken

[SA gardener]

I found 1 of my broody hens eggs in my coop today broken. I don't know what happened but I suspect 1 of 3 things :
1- the hen incubating the egg pecked at it till it broke
2 - one of my other hens which are not broody came into the coop and caused the damage (for whatever reason) , while the broody hen was outside the coop eating and pooping
3 - the hen incubating them accidentally broke it ( it's pretty hot here currently, and I noticed an egg actually stuck to the hens bare breast, I'm guessing sweat or some fluid caused stickiness, the egg could have broken when she stood up - it stuck for a second then fell)

I'm worried that this might happen again so I locked the coop and let the others hens roost elsewhere during the night
Has anybody had a similiar experience ?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Yes i have had all the possibilities u mentioned happen, including losing 2 "egg babies" within a few days of hatching just last week. A first for me was that earlier this year, an actual newly hatched chick, not just an egg, got caught in the hens humid & sticky breast feathers. Chick was desperately peeping and cheeping as mamma hen paced around not knowing what to do. Earlier this week, the first egg got crushed when 2 broodies went into the same next box after their daily break. I put one broody into her correct nest box, but the next morn discovered the crushed egg. I can only assume it got crushed due to two hens both trying to cover the same clutch of eggs. Then a few days ago i discovered a crushed egg when an 8 pound broody exited her nestbox. She is an experienced broody (her remaining eggs have since hatched), but still she somehow crushed the egg. It does accidently happen. The chick in your pic also looks like it was close to hatching? Did u remove the chick from the broken egg yourself? The egg shells of the crushed eggs i mentioned were very broken & crushed, but the inner membrane was intact, which held the chick inside the egg. I removed the chick myself. U did the right thing to separate the hen. With her chicks so close to hatching, keep a close watch on her to make sure she didnt herself Intentionally break the egg. (I wouldnt be concerned re that being an issue unless it is her first hatch). I did have one hen that killed her first ever chick as it hatched. I was really mad at her & gave her remaining eggs to another broody hen. But the next year i decided to give her another chance. Because she was a really sweet hen, & had observed other broodys with chicks by that time. And, i considered that to her, the hatching chick may have looked like a very wet small rat invading her eggs. I dont know what was in her chicken mind that first time, but she has since sucessfully hatched several clutches and has been a perfect doting mom. Again, keep your girl separated from the other hens to minimize her stress, & keep a close watch to make sure the remaining chicks hatch sucessfully.

 

[SA gardener]

UOTE="Allsfairinloveandbugs, post: 23429007, member: 556942"]
Yes i have had all the possibilities u mentioned happen, including losing 2 "egg babies" within a few days of hatching just last week. A first for me was that earlier this year, an actual newly hatched chick, not just an egg, got caught in the hens humid & sticky breast feathers. Chick was desperately peeping and cheeping as mamma hen paced around not knowing what to do. Earlier this week, the first egg got crushed when 2 broodies went into the same next box after their daily break. I put one broody into her correct nest box, but the next morn discovered the crushed egg. I can only assume it got crushed due to two hens both trying to cover the same clutch of eggs. Then a few days ago i discovered a crushed egg when an 8 pound broody exited her nestbox. She is an experienced broody (her remaining eggs have since hatched), but still she somehow crushed the egg. It does accidently happen. The chick in your pic also looks like it was close to hatching? Did u remove the chick from the broken egg yourself? The egg shells of the crushed eggs i mentioned were very broken & crushed, but the inner membrane was intact, which held the chick inside the egg. I removed the chick myself. U did the right thing to separate the hen. With her chicks so close to hatching, keep a close watch on her to make sure she didnt herself Intentionally break the egg. (I wouldnt be concerned re that being an issue unless it is her first hatch). I did have one hen that killed her first ever chick as it hatched. I was really mad at her & gave her remaining eggs to another broody hen. But the next year i decided to give her another chance. Because she was a really sweet hen, & had observed other broodys with chicks by that time. And, i considered that to her, the hatching chick may have looked like a very wet small rat invading her eggs. I dont know what was in her chicken mind that first time, but she has since sucessfully hatched several clutches and has been a perfect doting mom. Again, keep your girl separated from the other hens to minimize her stress, & keep a close watch to make sure the remaining chicks hatch sucessfully.
[/QUOTE]
I removed it from the shell myself, it was a rectangular piece of shell missing initially
It is the hens first hatch so I'll be on the lookout
Thanks you