Urgent help needed please!!

[caitcluckcluck]

Help needed please! I have a broody hen that I placed 6 fertile eggs under a couple of weeks ago, (today is day 12) I candled on day 10 and we had 4 good eggs, however I had noticed that the other 2 eggs had broken (I only found shell) I had attempted to candle through the day and thought that I'd seen spots and thought that maybe they were bad but thought I'd try again that night, and that's when there was only 4 left and they were all good. So I assumed ok, the ones I saw were bad and they busted and have gone. I checked her last night as I was locking them to bed and she was still sitting on 4, but I've just come out now to clean the coop out which I do once a week and now she only has 3!

so either she is eating them or the other hen is! What do I do?! Do I rescue all 3 remaining eggs off her and leave her with none? Or do I take 2 and leave her with 1 and hope for the best? I'm worried it will mess her up too much if I take them all, but I'm worried they'll all go if I do nothing??

(this is her first lot of eggs and first broody time too)

 

[Pork Pie]

If you have an incubator or another broody hen, and you want to hatch, then i would remove all of them.

I think i may also be inclined to try and cordon her nest from the rest of the flock and put a couple more sacrificial eggs under her. That way, you will know if she is the egg eater or not. If she turns out to be responsible then at least you know that you may well be taking a risk setting under her in the future (its her first time, so she may improve).

Oh, and i see its your first post -

CT

 

[n8ivetxn]

Hello & Welcome

Eggs are very susceptible to bacterial infections, generally tracked into the nest box by the broody, or sometimes transferred from your hand, when handled. After the egg is infected, it will rot and explode underneath the hen. So, it appears that she did it, but in reality, it was an entirely different scenario.

I'm really sorry about your eggs, but I think your hen is innocent.