Broody left the nest, BUT... help

[mommto3kiddos]

I went to check on my broody and found her off the nest.. When I snuck a peek in the nest to grab the opened shells I saw one of the eggs had an external pip.. When she saw me getting the shells out she slowly came back and sat down on the nest.

Will the egg /chick be ok since she left the nest before it zipped/hatched? I don't know how long she had been off but all 4 of the hatched chicks were right beside her..lol

I picked her some grass and sat it infront of her in the nest so she could snack and stay seated (yes I was bribing her)..

Also another question. When I opened the coop door I got this gosh awful smell, about make you gag.. Well she had pooped in the nest. She sat back down in the nest before I could kinda scoop it out. So (TMI) I reached under her and grabbed a handul of straw and poop and pulled it out..

Do hens usually poop in the nest???? I mean it was BAD and chicken poo usually doesn't phase me..

Bonus - Pic of all 4 babies we have so far...

 

[The Sheriff]

I count five!

 

[Judy]

I'd just leave her alone and let her do her thing, then clean up the mess later. She seems to be doing fine. Stuff happens.

 

[Angiebubs]

I see 5 as well?

 

[mommto3kiddos]

lol I meant 5.. - But now its 6.. The little guy came out within 2 hours. I ran to to store to get chick feed as all I had was layer feed, Went to put the chick feed in her pen and saw another hatched egg pushed to the side. Looks like he made his way out afterall..

 

[Johnn]

i felt sorry for my broody ehn she got up for food then she went back to her nest and stood looking at the eggs then one exploaded in her face!

 

[LiLRedCV]

Quote:
I had an egg explode under my broody this past summer! Smelt all rotten and attracted the flies real super quick.

Seriously made me gag and I have a pretty tough stomach!! Still had eggs waiting to hatch tho', so I had to take her, clean her up, and then take the eggs to clean them too before putting them back under her. Wasn't sure how well that was going to work out for their hatching, but we ended up with 7 healthy live births (with 2 more that died during pipping).

 

[mommto3kiddos]

So if my hen comes off the nest and the chicks follow - would it hurt to change out her straw bedding?? It stinks so bad, I mean crazy nasty and flies are swarming...

 

[saoagn]

I saw 5 chicks