New to broody hen hatching

[ladykparker]

I am new to allowing my broody hen to hatch her eggs herself. I check her today and one of the eggs had broken. It did not smell and the yolk was the usual bright yellow. Do I. Red to be concerned with the other eggs being contaminated?

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi, and welcome to BYC!

No, I'd just pull it out, and they should be okay.

Wishing you a great hatch!

 

[Perris]

I am new to allowing my broody hen to hatch her eggs herself. I check her today and one of the eggs had broken. It did not smell and the yolk was the usual bright yellow. Do I. Red to be concerned with the other eggs being contaminated?

were the contents of the broken egg spilled over any of the other eggs? If so, there could be an issue.

It is not so much that *the broken egg contents* contaminate the other eggs, it is that they provide a perfect growing medium for extraneous bacteria, so it is rather that a broken egg enables contamination of the remaining eggs. If you can wipe any such spills off with a damp cloth it's worth doing, imo, but if they've already dried and hardened, I think it's probably best to just leave them alone and hope for the best. Smell them periodically when the broody is off for her daily constitutional, and remove any that smell off. She may do it for you - trust her instincts. Broodies can toss eggs they instinctively know are bad out of the nest.

 

[Altairsky]

I had a broody lay a shelless egg while she was sitting. The other eggs got contaminated with yolk.
I did nothing and had 100% hatch rate.
The hen will eventually clean the filthy eggs during the egg turning routine.