Found most of an eggshell in our broody pen this afternoon when I went out to check on everyone; the broody (who has raised chicks before, FWIW) pretty clearly removed it from the nest. It must have been accidentally broken or she decided it was off somehow. I checked an egg from beneath her and it did have a small amount of dried egg on it. For now, I placed it back beneath her, but would appreciate some advice. Today is maybe day 5 of her sitting, as we slipped eggs beneath her Monday night.
My thought is to remove my hen from the nest despite the certain protest, to gently scrape the dried egg from the ones she is still brooding, and to clean up any dirty nest material...*or* would it be best to chuck the whole lot (
) and start over with fresh bedding and new eggs in 2-3 days (it will take me that long to get more fertile eggs)?
She is a pretty dedicated broody; she will lose her mind in this way 3-4 times a year and can take a couple of weeks to break. Last year she broke us first (4 weeks of insane, glaring, amazing inflatable hen broodiness in the breaker) and we just snuck tiny peeps beneath her, but right now I would prefer to let her hatch from our own flock.
Also, she is in her own prefab cooplet & pen within the main chicken run, so no other birds were involved unless we have a real Houdini.
My thought is to remove my hen from the nest despite the certain protest, to gently scrape the dried egg from the ones she is still brooding, and to clean up any dirty nest material...*or* would it be best to chuck the whole lot (
) and start over with fresh bedding and new eggs in 2-3 days (it will take me that long to get more fertile eggs)?She is a pretty dedicated broody; she will lose her mind in this way 3-4 times a year and can take a couple of weeks to break. Last year she broke us first (4 weeks of insane, glaring, amazing inflatable hen broodiness in the breaker) and we just snuck tiny peeps beneath her, but right now I would prefer to let her hatch from our own flock.
Also, she is in her own prefab cooplet & pen within the main chicken run, so no other birds were involved unless we have a real Houdini.
