Help *broken egg in with broody...do i change out soiled straw??

[BigIslandChicks]

ok i moved my broody at 5am this morning into her own spot because she was in every ones fave nest. causing her to be disrupted and then adding eggs to her clutch after she was on them already for a night or 2. the move went good and she was on the eggs all day. i went to check on her awhile ago and thought i noticed a broken egg out the side of her wing. i lifted her up to check on it and sure enough a broken one. i took out the pieces and checked the other eggs quick. my broody is a game hen and was not very happy with me poking around in there and was clucking and pecked me a few times.

so to the question... most of the eggs look pretty clean still but in the middle of the nest the hay is all soiled with the yolk. the egg that broke must have been right in the middle and mamma must have pushed it out - thats how i saw it.


so do i move her to the side and all the eggs and just try to take out what is soiled or should i just leave her alone? she has been on them for 4 nights now but this will be her first full night in the new pen. do i wait one more night and do it tomorrow? tonight after dark? this will also be her second time hatching so i feel like maybe she knows what she is doing and will take care of it?? she had her last chicks in the wild, so she has more experience than i do!!

any advice would be so helpful!!

thanks and aloha

 

[Illia]

If it isn't so soggy that it is bothering the other eggs and making them wet, or that it may cause mold to grow, I wouldn't worry. But the fact that she gets interrupted a lot by others may be an issue. .. I usually let a hen or pullet brood in an area where others won't bother her. Otherwise you'll get issues like new eggs that cause the hatching process to last days longer, too many eggs that cause a lower hatch rate, or simply broken and disturbed eggs like you experienced.

 

[BigIslandChicks]

thanks so much for responding...she went broody on me and i did not have a separate place ready for her!!

after i knew she was going to stay on the nest (2nights) i built her a brooding pen, it was ready for the 3rd night but it was pouring rain so i did not want to move her. then last night was the holiday so it was very loud from all the fireworks so i waited until 5 am, woke and moved her then. she has been in her new spot for 19 hours now. out in the front yard in her own little corner where it is dark and quiet. my 7wk olds are across the yard in another separate coop. (im slowing expanding all over the yard

my neighbors say they dont mind but who really knows!

the main coop is out back, so now she is well away from the rest of the flock)

like you said i decided to just leave her alone. ill check her in a few to make sure theres no mold...we live in a very wet climate so i will watch out for that. i did do a quick check of the eggs when i found the broken one and they looked dry. she also had another one of my EE eggs under there!

that i did not know she had! next time we will be more prepared.

mahalo nui loa Illia for getting back to me on this one. now i can go to bed

im just gonna let her do her thing and hope for the best

i figure she had a few too many eggs anyhow, so one less now might be better for the rest of them.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Well, broodies have to get off the nest at least once a day to poop and eat. i would use that opportunity to pull out the eggs, quickly clean the nest and put in new bedding, then put the eggs back. You don't want the eggs sitting in poo, nor her. i am constantly checking and cleaning nests when i have a broody setting eggs, and even after the chicks are born. i've lifted up broodies to pull out mucky bedding and replace with clean. They don't like it, but, oh well.

 

[BigIslandChicks]

thank you Enchanted Sunrise Farms i will keep an eye on her to see if she will get up and i can sneak in and change out the nesting material. she did not get up at all yesterday so hopefully today she will get some food/water. she has access to both and a little stretching/pooping room in the new pen too.

i think if she still has not gotten up later this afternoon i will take her off the nest for a quick min. and change out the bedding. it is rainy today so like Illia mentioned, i am a bit worried about mold.

thanks again.. im all worrying about her. she had too many eggs i knew it! next time we will know better what to do. but i am learning a lot and quick.


MAHALO BYC!!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

If she's only been on the eggs for four days, she really should be getting up at least once a day, if not twice. i only let my broodies stay on the nest when it's 3 days or so to hatch. Mine tend not to move at all then anyways. So i will hold a food dish up to their beaks, then some water, so they can at least keep their strength up.

Good luck with your broody and her hatch!