egg eaten by broody?

[mwash]

I found this under one of my broodys today. I've found three broken eggs under her now, all eaten. One definitely had a crack so I think it just got smashed. The first, I hoped she knew something was wrong, so ate it. But this today..? I don't remember when day 21 is, but did it pip and so she ate it? I'm not sure if I should take the rest of her eggs or let her keep sitting.

 

[Sonya9]

I can't imagine a broody swallowing a full sized chick whole. If the chick wasn't fully developed then there should be some left over gunk (egg yolk, blood, etc...).

I would wonder if something else ate it, maybe rats in the coop at night? And yes I would be worried about the other eggs (and the broody too).

 

[lazy gardener]

If you want chicks, I'd pull them. That doesn't look like rat's doings to me. No residue in the nest at all? Have you felt down into the litter?

 

[mwash]

I'll check the litter again, but didn't see anything before. I don't think it's a rat because I have another hen in there with hatched chicks and they've been fine. These were probably about two weeks into their hatch. I have a couple more broodys I can give the eggs to. This is her first time and she's a comet, so maybe that's why.

 

[scflock]

I can't imagine a broody swallowing a full sized chick whole. If the chick wasn't fully developed then there should be some left over gunk (egg yolk, blood, etc...).

I would wonder if something else ate it, maybe rats in the coop at night? And yes I would be worried about the other eggs (and the broody too).

Last week I caught my chickens playing keep away with an embryo that they had stolen out of a broody nest while she was eating. The egg that was left behind looked very similar

 

[mwash]

Oy. She's sitting on 12, I think. I'll see what I can do this evening. This is the third cracked egg I've found under her. One I knew had a hairline crack, and it probably got smashed, but it was not eaten. The other one had been eaten but I didn't know her motives. Bugger.