Crushed egg on other eggs

[Black Jaque]

We have a Chantecler hen that went broody so we put a dozen fertilized eggs under her. After coming back from a camping trip I found that she crushed 3 of the eggs and the contents got all over the other eggs.

I changed the bedding entirely and put her back on the eggs.

Now I am wondering how necessary is it to clean/wash the eggs? I can imagine that washing 'em might cause more problems than leaving them. Does anyone here have experience with this?

It is sort of frustrating because we moved her out of the coop when she went broody specifically to prevent this. Perhaps a dozen eggs is too many? Her "nest box" is just a garbage can turned on its side with a bunch of pine shavings. When I changed the bedding I threw a little sand from the kids sandbox in the bottom to make for a more level surface and something with a little more "give" under the shavings.

 

[sumi]

One of my broody hens crushed an egg a few months ago and smeared the contents all over the remainder. I removed them and gave them a quick wash under running warm (not hot) water and replaced them after cleaning up her nest. They all hatched.

 

[red horse ranch]

One of my broody hens crushed an egg a few months ago and smeared the contents all over the remainder. I removed them and gave them a quick wash under running warm (not hot) water and replaced them after cleaning up her nest. They all hatched.

I'm glad to know that they might still hatch after being cleaned. I've had broken eggs under brood hens many times but have been afraid to clean them. And they don't always hatch when smeared with egg.