Help! What happened to my egg??

[Andie32]

It’s day 18 and I went to clean up the boxes and check on my girls only to be surprised by this (see pic). What happened!!!!!!!!

 

[MGG]

It’s day 18 and I went to clean up the boxes and check on my girls only to be surprised by this (see pic). What happened!!!!!!!!

Looks like maybe your hen ate a chick. No embryo laying around?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Something opened and ate it have to agree

 

[Andie32]

No I don’t see anything else laying around. No fragments. No goo. Just the empty egg. First time hatch here.

 

[GermanKennhuhn]

I have no experience with this, but I hear hens will eat “bad eggs”. Maybe that’s what happened? I do agree that something ate it.​

 

[MGG]

No I don’t see anything else laying around. No fragments. No goo. Just the empty egg. First time hatch here.

Can any other chickens get to your broody's nest? Make sure she's separated from them.

 

[MGG]

I have no experience with this, but I hear hens will eat “bad eggs”. Maybe that’s what happened? I do agree that something ate it.​

It looks like it was alive recently, lots of veins.

 

[GermanKennhuhn]

It looks like it was alive recently, lots of veins.

Yeah, you’re right. Just thought I’d mention it

 

[MGG]

Yeah, you’re right. Just thought I’d mention it

No worries
Sometimes hens will eat weaker embryos too.

 

[Andie32]

I have two brooding. They share a very big box, one on each side. One has claimed 8 eggs and the other 15. I’ve candles them about every 5 days to make sure the first hatch is going well. Every one of them was fertile and full of veins. I’m so shocked to find this this morning, this far into it. I was really hoping to start seeing some chicks in the next few days. It’s kinda discouraging honestly. I wonder how they would know it’s a bad egg..... interesting.