Its normal for the hen to have different "aged" eggs right? And when is the best time to move her

[Bailee8jane]

This is my first time ever owning chickens, I didn't expect a broody hen until spring not to mention her to be successful.
My girl has had a nest for almost 3 weeks and her eggs are in different stages of development. They appear to range from day 9 to day 19, this is normal right? Especially for a new mom?
I did sort out the eggs and gave her back the eggs that had more devolved embryos (days 15-19) the less developed eggs (days 9-14) I gave to another broody hen but she left them.
Is my broody likely to wait for the other eggs to catch up or should I plan on having 4 successful hatches?
I'm fine with either or, I just want to be prepared with an explanation for my son if they don't all make it.

And my next question, broody hen is not in a safe area and she hasn't been this entire time. This was allowed on purpose because she was wondering the neighborhood looking for a nesting spot.
I finally have my new chicken run in and will be putting it up this weekend she'll have her own section at the back of the run with a small shelter. Do I move her before the eggs hatch or try to move her and the chicks after? This is probably my biggest concern involving her and the babies. Does it not matter as long as I move her at night?
I'm worried they'll hatch before this weekend.

 

[JubileeFarmer]

When the eggs start to hatch the chicks can live off of the absorbed yolk for about three days. After that the hen needs to take them off the nest to get food and water. Any eggs not hatched at that time will be abandoned.

Moving a broody hen is risky because she may be bonded to the nesting site and might abandon the eggs, or cease to be broody, if moved. Moving her after at least one chick has hatched should be okay because she will be bonded to the chick rather than the nesting spot and will stay wherever the chick is.

Chicken eggs are supposed to hatch at 21 days but it's not unusual for eggs under a broody to hatch on day 20 so if you have an egg on day 19 of development it will likely hatch tomorrow or Thursday.

For future broodies - when a hen goes broody the best course of action is to remove all eggs daily until you have the number that you want to hatch and then mark them with a pencil or Sharpie and put them under the hen all at once so that they all start to develop at the same time. Then, if the hen is nesting in a location where other hens can add eggs to the nest, check daily and remove any unmarked eggs. That way all eggs hatch at around the same time.

 

[Bailee8jane]

When the eggs start to hatch the chicks can live off of the absorbed yolk for about three days. After that the hen needs to take them off the nest to get food and water. Any eggs not hatched at that time will be abandoned.

Moving a broody hen is risky because she may be bonded to the nesting site and might abandon the eggs, or cease to be broody, if moved. Moving her after at least one chick has hatched should be okay because she will be bonded to the chick rather than the nesting spot and will stay wherever the chick is.

Chicken eggs are supposed to hatch at 21 days but it's not unusual for eggs under a broody to hatch on day 20 so if you have an egg on day 19 of development it will likely hatch tomorrow or Thursday.

For future broodies - when a hen goes broody the best course of action is to remove all eggs daily until you have the number that you want to hatch and then mark them with a pencil or Sharpie and put them under the hen all at once so that they all start to develop at the same time. Then, if the hen is nesting in a location where other hens can add eggs to the nest, check daily and remove any unmarked eggs. That way all eggs hatch at around the same time.

Thank you so much for the answer. Sadly both hens abdomen the nests tonight. Next time I will follow your steps and hopefully have a successful hatch and with all of the eggs hatching at the same time.
I'm pretty disappointed about it but after having multiple stray cats start hanging around I decided to take the risk of loosing the eggs versus cats killed the chicks, assuming mom wouldnt be able to keep them safe. I know broody hens can be a force of their own.

I'll take this failure as a learning experience and try to be more prepared for the next batch