mother hen eating egg

[son-n-lawschicks]

why will a mother hen pick 1 egg that she has been setting on for 12 days and put it out of the nest and eat it?

 

[Lollipop]

Likely she feels something is wrong with that egg. Most broodies will disgard bad eggs by pushing them out of the nest. Not many will eat them, but it`s an indevidual thing. Best advise is to remove the shell and don`t worry about it.

 

[MightyMaran]

My hen that is 5 days out from hatching has done the same thing through this set to 4 different eggs. The latest one was found today. She pushed it out of the box, ate the shell around it and the membrane held the egg in the shape of a leather egg. When I tossed it out, it popped and was just full of a greyish fluid and had icky odor to it. Not a rotten egg odor but a stinky odor none the less. I was told by another person that raised chickens that the hens know which ones are not right and will get them out of there. So now she is down to 15 eggs left in the nest and 5 days to go. Can't wait for the weekend to get here, hoping a bunch hatch but would be happy if even just one or two pop through.