Broody questions

[Broody Queen]

I have a broody that started off with nine eggs, however instead of using a crate as a nest i used an old kitty litter box because that was all i had on hand at the time. A couple days after i moved her to that nest i found four of the eggs on the ground and very cold, one of them was cracked. I marked the four eggs so i could tell them apart from the rest, in case they dont hatch and put them all back under her. What are the chances of any of these hatching? The next day (today) i found another egg out of the nest with ants crawling all over it, i cleaned it off with a napkin and put it back under her, only to find that the egg that was cracked had "exploded" all over the other eggs. Should i clean those eggs off, if so with what? If not than is there anything i can do? Plus i found another egg had a crack in it, however it was more like a pip, which is impossible because it is only day 12. What are the chances of this egg hatching? Should i remove it from the broody so that it doesnt explode and get the other eggs dirty? I realized that the kitty litter box was too slippery ( a little late...) so i changed it to an old crate which is what i normally use. Any answers are much appreciated.

P.S. i have candled all the eggs and all have chicks...

 

[nchls school]

I have a broody that started off with nine eggs, however instead of using a crate as a nest i used an old kitty litter box because that was all i had on hand at the time. A couple days after i moved her to that nest i found four of the eggs on the ground and very cold, one of them was cracked. I marked the four eggs so i could tell them apart from the rest, in case they dont hatch and put them all back under her. What are the chances of any of these hatching? The next day (today) i found another egg out of the nest with ants crawling all over it, i cleaned it off with a napkin and put it back under her, only to find that the egg that was cracked had "exploded" all over the other eggs. Should i clean those eggs off, if so with what? If not than is there anything i can do? Plus i found another egg had a crack in it, however it was more like a pip, which is impossible because it is only day 12. What are the chances of this egg hatching? Should i remove it from the broody so that it doesnt explode and get the other eggs dirty? I realized that the kitty litter box was too slippery ( a little late...) so i changed it to an old crate which is what i normally use. Any answers are much appreciated.

P.S. i have candled all the eggs and all have chicks... 

I'm way too late to be of help. I hope all is well now. Is this broody a large hen? Large hens often crack, break, and knock eggs from the nest out of clumsiness. A hen of this kind does better with a very large nest box with low or no sides. This makes it easier for the hen to maneuver and to pull eggs back into the nest should they be knocked out.

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

generally eggs with cracks will not hatch and if they do the chick will be malformed at hatch,, unfortunetly bacteria gets in through the crack and kills the embryo or causes permanent damage,,, i have heard others claim they have had results resealing the egg with nail polish or wax but i wouldn't put much faith in this best of luck

 

[Broody Queen]

nchls school yes, she is quite large, next time she goes broody i will try a nest with no sides. She kicked the cracked egg out of the nest so i threw it away and yesterday i candled the other three eggs and sadly it looked like they had stopped developing, probably were cold for too long.Thank you both for your answers.