First time with a fertile egg

[Serphs]

hello, one of my broody hens is laying on a clutch of eggs and today we heard one of the eggs peeping. My mom says we should crack the eggs open, but we don’t know how long the egg has been peeping. Is it okay for us to break the egg or will a broody hen be able to hatch a egg without problems?

 

[007Sean]

If you crack the egg open you'll kill it. Just leave it under the broody, she can take care of it.

 

[Kiki]

How long has she been sitting on the eggs?
Can you take one or two into a dark room and shine a bright light into it to see if there is a chick in it?

 

[Kiki]

The hens don't usually crack the eggs open to get the chicks out.
The chick itself breaks out.

 

[Serphs]

How long has she been sitting on the eggs?
Can you take one or two into a dark room and shine a bright light into it to see if there is a chick in it?

We know one egg has a chick in it, because (very embarrassing) I dropped an egg onto it. The fertile egg wasn’t cracked but it made a peeping noise that I heard.

 

[sourland]

Depending upon how far along they are in incubation, the cracked egg may not survive. The less you bother the hen the greater the chance for a successful hatch.

 

[Kiki]

If you heard the peeping I'd do like Sour says and just leave them alone and wait.

 

[Serphs]

Thank you everyone for your support! Our chicken hatched 2 chicks today, but she’s still on 2 eggs. I think these two eggs are still fertile, so will the broody hen leave these eggs to help the chicks eat and drink, or is it okay for these eggs to be put under another broody hen?

 

[WVduckchick]

If you leave the eggs with the current hen, she will wait until they hatch. The other babies will be fine for a couple days until the others hatch. Or you can move the remaining eggs to another broody and momma will take care of the ones she already hatched. Up to you.