[troll]

Hello everyone,
This is my first time on any sort of forum so hope I am doing it right and that someone can help/advise.
I have a hen sitting on eggs. We are on day 16 and she is doing really well. She has her little routine and she has hatched eggs for me before but yesterday she came off the nest at her normal time but got off in a bit of a flap and somehow managed to break one of her eggs and knock another out of the nest completely !!!   The broken egg unfortunately had a chick in it which was very sad but the other eggs got covered in the 'gunk' from the broken one as did the bottom of the nest (she is in a cat basket, in a dog cage in the chicken house which is a converted garden shed). I knew it was bad to have dirty eggs as it could cause problems for the chicks when trying to get out so I got a warm damp cloth and wiped all the eggs and the bottom of the nest as much as I could. The hen was back on the nest while I did this and didn't seem to object at all really and I just pushed the eggs carefully back under her. So have I done the right thing ?? And what about the egg that was completely knocked out of the nest, could this have killed a potential chick ? I know I will just have to wait and see but what do you think ?  

[bantam novice]

I am not an expert but it sounds to me as if you have done exactly the right thing.  As for the one that was knocked out of the nest I have heard on this forum that eggs have been left for hours before and still hatched live chicks.  They are extremely resilient.  If the egg is no longer viable she may well roll it out and stop brooding it.  Good luck with the hatching 

[Helenaj]

I AGREE, IF THE EGG YOLK HAD BEEN LEFT ON THE OTHER EGGS IT WOULD HAVE DRIED TO A VENEER AND MAYBE SUFFOCATED THE CHICKS, SO YOU DID THE RIGHT THING.

Sorry for all the Capitals, but I'd left it on by mistake - I'm not shouting!

[troll]

Thank you very much for getting back to me. I feel much better now. My hen has sat all day today and not even got off at her normal time so will see how we go....we are on the home straight now....fingers crossed     Thanks again

[Helenaj]

From day 18 she will sit tight, so don't be tempted to pull her off the eggs. She'll come off of her own accord when ready.