My Hen Left Her Eggs 3 Days Before The Hatch Date!! Help!!

[HeidiEParr]

I have never had to incubate eggs myself and I'm not sure what to do! I am not experienced in candling at all, and I'm not sure if the eggs are still alive. She left them sometime today, and I attempted the float test and they all seem okay, but I'm not sure if I did it right. I currently have them in a bucket with slightly damp cedar shavings and a lamp over the top keeping them fairly warm, but I'm not sure if what I'm doing is correct! I don't have the time to wait for an incubator off of the internet and there aren't any stores nearby selling them. Any help would be very much so appreciated.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I wouldn't submerge them in water. You can drown the eggs that way. You can try to candle them using a flashlight. They may have been no good.

 

[HeidiEParr]

I wouldn't submerge them in water. You can drown the eggs that way. You can try to candle them using a flashlight. They may have been no good.

I can see heartbeats in most of the eggs. I removed the 3 bad ones. There are about 14 eggs in total now. She's been sitting on a very large clutch. She went back to the brood box after about 6 hours of being gone and laid another egg, and I slipped them back under her in the hopes that she stays there.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If she's laying she isn't broody.