How long can fertile eggs stay under hen before collection?

[leia_and_friends]

Hi BYCers!

I was wondering, how long can eggs stay warm under a hen (and still be viable) before you collect them for incubation?

When does development start?

I had a hen that just went broody. An egg was laid around 1:30 this afternoon, and when I got back home at 8pm, she was still sitting on it.

So would that mean I can’t incubate it, because development would have already started?

Thanks

 

[CluckNDoodle]

You should be fine with that short of a period of time. Notable development starts around 18-19 hours of incubation.