Hen sitting in 16 filthy eggs

[ehoneybee]

She got up today and I counted them. They stink and are filthy. They're set to hatch in a few weeks. I thought one broke because of the smell but I couldn't see any broken ones. Is this ok?

 

[Justso]

If one did break it was probably very bacteria laden. Not a great sign. This can easily spread bacteria to the other eggs as well. I agree with hysop that you need to start candling and repeat to make sure you don't have any other bad eggs or ones that have stopped progressing. You need to get rid of them. Get a nice high powered flashlight and do all of this at night.
Next time you can check the eggs at 7 &14 days and know which ones are good or not.

 

[lobolinda]

She got up today and I counted them. They stink and are filthy. They're set to hatch in a few weeks. I thought one broke because of the smell but I couldn't see any broken ones. Is this ok?

That darker mat of bedding in the center? You had an egg break some time along & mama probably tossed out the shell pieces as she turned & moved the other eggs. Now, its rotted your bedding.
Your other eggs, while soiled from mama moving & turning them about, may still be living. Candle them.
Look for growth, movement.
Get rid of any " dead" eggs. Change that bedding out, completely.
I sure would think twice about trying to clean those eggs up, though.
The "bloom" from mama may be all that is keeping them from being infected. If they are viable when you candle the big end, pick off a little stuff but I would NOT be aggressive or try to wet & wipe them clean. You can't wipe off all the bacteria, but you can sure unintentionally wipe off the "bloom" & leave those eggs open to bacteria & dehydration, then that without the "bloom".

 

[ehoneybee]

I would go off of what you see when you candle them.

Do you have any experience candling and know what you're looking for?

If she's been sitting on eggs for 23 days then most likely the eggs that are past day 21 are/were the rotten ones.

I would let her sit on any eggs she has that were not recently laid within the last day or two.

Are other hens still laying in her nest box?

Zero experience other than what I've seen online. DH and I just returned from candling 20 eggs with my Android
flashlight. 11 were definitely infertile or just laid or way behind in development so we took those out. 9 were solid enough that we figured might as well put them back under her and see what happens. I marked all those so I'll he able to see any new ones laid in her nest. I could be off on my dates as we all are to a degree when we let the hen do the incubating. I feel pretty good about it, though

 

[hysop]

I personally would get a mildly damp cloth and wipe them clean without scrubbing too hard and clean out her nest box. If she’s been broody for a while I would think you can do all that and she’ll still hop back on.

You can also use that time to candle them real quick to see how far along they are and if they’re even viable

 

[50-45-1]

Some might still hatch. Is your broody separated or situated where other hens may bu still laying fresh eggs in the nest?
Agree you should compleatly change out the hay or straw and remove what gunk that easily comes off the eggs and let her continue.
Looks like an egg or two broke. Other hens compeating for the nest can break some, soft shell eggs sometimes are to blame.
The bacteria from the yuck sometimes will get through the shell and kill the chick. I would not hope for more than half of these hatching.
I have been supprised before though.

 

[nao57]

You could break down the disturbances you do into more than 1 part.

Like first part, do like a 1 minute smell test and just pull really fast what's very obvious. (You'd be able to hold them away from the nest for individual smells.)

And then do the larger cleanup after.

I wouldn't do 2 major time consuming cleanups that she'll notice right together.

Hope this helps.

 

[Justso]

Don't beat yourself up! We've all had unfortunate situations, this thread will help someone else too, so it's good you brought it up.
My guess is that chicks that hatch will have a vigerous immune system. Keep us posted on how things are going.

 

[ehoneybee]

Okay, so I finally caught her off the nest and took the opportunity to see what I was dealing with. Somehow the eggs were no longer as dirty but there were 23 of them . So, I took them all out, cleaned the nest, put fresh hay, and put all 23 back. Obviously others are laying under her and about half of these won't hatch. Ugh. Next time I'm going to be more proactive and mark the eggs.

 

[ehoneybee]

She’ll move again hopefully giving you time to mark them.

Oh, I wasn't going to bother at this point. The original 16 were set to hatch July 5.