Broody vs Incubator

[ArmyWife]

well i wanted to mark the eggs today so I could tell the difference between the new eggs. Can I collect the new eggs from here on out? leaving the marked ones out there? When i went out this morning, I was surprised that the eggs were all warm! I candled them again and could see in some eggs absolute development! I put them all back and the hens were little concerned waiting for their return. 3 ran in to sit on them. 1 found her place first and the other 2 left. Does this mean they are "broody" even though they get off of them? Can they take turns being broody, or does 1 claim them? I am leaving the whole pile in hopes that having many will encourage them, although I do not think they are all fertile eggs. How long till they start to stink? Is it ok that I disturbed the eggs at this stage? Thanks for all of the instruction

 

[ArmyWife]

oh and the oldest egg out there right now is 8 days old.

 

[ArmyWife]

here's an update

my hen is broody now! sitting on the eggs and turning them
She even kicked some of the eggs out, I think the non fertilized

 

[sumi]

Hens don't know which eggs are infertile. How many eggs is she sitting on? If it's not too many make a hollow nest to help her keep them under her. They don't notice sometimes when one rolls out from under them. I usually just shove them back, even if they got cold. What you can do if she's on a large clutch is wait 'till day 7 and candle the eggs. By then you'll be able to tell which are fertile (and developing) and discard the non-fertile ones.

 

[ArmyWife]

ok thanks!