Seriously, how do chickens reproduce?

[KatGold]

I am truly perplexed.

It's not the biology I'm having trouble with. I took ornithological A&P in college. I get that.

But for heaven's sake, even if you don't have predators eating the eggs, the hens themselves smash them and eat them. They kick them out of the nest. The weather shoots up to 109 degrees on the third day of summer (I'm just guessing that's not good....it's not good for the rest of us). There are so many things that go wrong.

Golly, if I get a hatch rate under my broody at all, it's not going to be any better than my bator hatch rate (which is nothing to write home about).

My poor little Sweedish Flower eggs. I was so looking forward to them, but I only have two left (out of 7).

 

[HEChicken]

I've only had a hen kick one egg out of the nest and I think it is because she knew it was a dud. Are these Swedish Flower eggs shipped eggs? Its possible they were maltreated by the post office and the hen knows they are not developing? As for standing on them and breaking them, I haven't had that happen. Does she have a big enough space and plenty of room to turn around and get on and off the nest without stepping on them? Is she segregated from the rest of the flock so they can't get in and hurt her eggs?