Two broodies fighting over a clutch?

[NatJ]

As for the 13 eggs that she was sitting on...I hate to throw them out. Do you think they might be good?

Maybe. You could take two bowls outside (just in case) and find out.
Check an egg by cracking it into a bowl, looking at it, and sniffing it. If it seems fine, dump it into the other bowl (good eggs), and go on to the next egg.

If an egg is bad, discard it--and the possible smell is why I suggest doing the checking outside

If the eggs seem fine, they should be safe to cook and eat--you could eat them yourself, or give the chickens a nice treat of scrambled eggs for supper.

(If someone tells you to test the eggs by putting them in water to see if they float: that is a test for how much moisture has evaporated from them, which can let you guess how old they are, but it does not test for whether bacteria have made them smelly and unsafe to eat.)

 

[MrFluffyandGirls]

We candled Seven's clutch. She had 13 eggs underneath her. Not a single one was fertilized... *sad face* Not really surprised though... I'm pretty certain that our rooster is really old and I think he's afraid of my girls. I have some Rhode Island Reds that he might be mating with perhaps.... Is there a way to tell if an egg is fertilized by candling from Day 1 -3 ? Or do you pretty much need to wait until after Day 3 to see anything?

In the meantime, I split the fake eggs between Red and Seven. Each have two fake eggs under them now.

As for the 13 eggs that she was sitting on...I hate to throw them out. Do you think they might be good?

I just put the egg in a glass of water and if it floats its a rotten egg. If it stays at the bottom its fine. This method has always worked for me. I never poisoned myself or family with a bad egg so far. Ha.ha.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I broke down and purchased some hatching eggs to put under the two girls. My husband probably isn't going to be too happy about that but I couldn't let a good brood go to waste. I hope to have my eggs by the end of the week or early next week.

How long do the girls typically stay broody before the "off" switch hits? This is my first time actually letting them STAY broody. In the previous year, I would break their broody behavior because I didn't have a rooster.

 

[NatJ]

How long broody? Probably depends a bit on the hen, but hens sometimes hatch duck eggs (4 weeks). I once had a hen broody for 6 weeks (long enough to hatch an ostrich egg, although of course I did not try to give her one.)