I think I made a grave mistake. 😭

[GigitheBackyardHerbilist]

My broody hen got upset last night and broke 3 if her eggs. I cleaned out her nest. One egg was crushed in on side with another dented in area on the other. I decided to look to see if it were fertile the other two weren't. I opened it and now I want to cry. It was. If I left it, even though it was damaged would it of hatched?

 

[sourland]

Sometimes if such eggs are moved to an incubator they can hatch if they are close to hatch date. Under a hen they tend to become crushed and killed.

 

[GigitheBackyardHerbilist]

Sometimes if such eggs are moved to an incubator they can hatch if they are close to hatch date. Under a hen they tend to become crushed and killed.

We're about 12 days in. I'll know better next time. I have an incubator but with my broody hen I thought the chicks would be better off being hatched by her and accepted by the rest. I thought I'd read that to be the case. I've been reading and watching videos. I should of asked before I acted.

 

[NatJ]

We're about 12 days in. I'll know better next time.

Putting the egg in an incubator might not have worked in this case.

With the amount of damage you describe, bacteria probably would have gotten in and grown enough to kill the chick before it was ready to hatch. That's one reason eggs very close to hatching have a better chance-- less time for bacteria to grow.

 

[GigitheBackyardHerbilist]

Putting the egg in an incubator might not have worked in this case.

With the amount of damage you describe, bacteria probably would have gotten in and grown enough to kill the chick before it was ready to hatch. That's one reason eggs very close to hatching have a better chance-- less time for bacteria to grow.

Thank you for the comfort. This is our first time and I'm so nervous.