Why did my hen eat her 3 week old embryo?!?!

[autumn_g]

Hi guys!!! So today when cleaning out the duck pen one of my nesting hens took her 3 week old fertilized egg carried it away from the nest and I watched her tear the growing embryo out and eat it!! I went and grabbed the remaining shell with yolk and thru it away. I smelled it and it didn't smell rotten so I why would she do this?? Shes been fed well. We give them all live worms almost every day along with their regular feed. Will she do this again?

 

[sourland]

Are other ducks/drakes bothering her on the nest ? If eggs are inadvertently cracked/broken the hen will remove them from the nest in order to keep from contaminating the rest of the clutch.