Cracked shell all over on hatching day?

[Mgrace717]

Hello everyone, I have a first time hen on a nest and today and tomorrow was expected to be hatching days for her. So I went and checked her and just sticking out of one side I could see a little bit of egg with blood on it. I pushed her wing back and saw a little black and heard some peeps, however when I pushed her further back to get a peek, I noticed the entire egg is cracked all over. Is this normal? I usually don't even look under my hens til I see chicks already hatched. The videos I've watched just shows them kinda just pipping then pieces come off from there, but this one look like a hand squeezed Easter egg. I pushed it back under the hen and left it. Is that normal?

 

[sourland]

Sometimes it happens that once the egg pips and starts to zip the hen may inadvertently step on it and break it. Generally happens with large or nervous mothers. It may result in the death of the chick. Good luck.

 

[Mgrace717]

Sometimes it happens that once the egg pips and starts to zip the hen may inadvertently step on it and break it. Generally happens with large or nervous mothers. It may result in the death of the chick. Good luck.

Thanks, I went and checked in her just a minute ago and she pushed it out of the nest. It was cold and barely Alive. And it never fully hatched. I think you're right that it just got broken. She is a larger barred rock hen who in the almost 3 years I've had her has never gone broody. Hopefully she will do better with the rest. Thank you for the reply