Broody chooks

Hi folks,

My new additions have turned broody and for the past week I haven't found a single egg in their nesting box.  I read somewhere that sometimes they stop laying when they are broody and that it could take a while before they start laying again.  Fair do's.  Who am I to argue with Mother Nature

The problem is, this morning I noticed the hens on the other side of the fence (we have a bit partitioned off mainly because the back fence is full of holes and the fence was originally erected to stop our wee dogs getting out into the field - I'll post a pic so you can see what I mean).  I went to check and they have made a nest in the bushes - neat little nest I must say, and in it I found 8 eggs. 

My question is, what do I do with the eggs?  Should I leave them there and let them play 'mommy' or should I remove them.  If I do remove them should I discard them or would they still be OK for eating?

One other thing, some of the eggs have blood smears on them.  Both the girls are looking healthy, eating and drinking and foraging with no visible signs of something being wrong with them.  Is this normal or should I start fretting?

I do know one thing for sure.  I am going to have to put up some netting to stop them getting over the back.  I am not afraid they will fly off or something will get at them (they go into their coop each night no bother and they are locked up), but I can't see me making a habit of climbing over fencing and negotiating bushes, most of which have nasty thorns on them.  I have a feeling once I get over it is going to be a mission to get back again  :blink:

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Here is a pic of the blocked off bit at the back of their enclosure and a pic of the eggs in the makeshift nest.

Thanks for the advice Joyfull.  There are no redmites as I check the coop regularly and it is well and truly slurried (after all I have read on this forum about red mites I am a borderline fanatic in trying to make sure their coop is clean and mite free    ). 
They also go into the coop at night no bother so I think they just took advantage of being able to hop over the fence to nest there    I did find Dolly trying to make a nest behind the shed a while back but I moved her on, I guess this is payback putting the new nest in an almost inaccessible place for me to get at 

As for the eggs, I have no desire to eat something a rat may or may not have wee'd on so in the bin they will go with the exception of a couple which I shall put in their nesting box. 

We have nicknamed the 2 little ladies the Terrorists as they bully the 2 fat ladies and poor Boris.  Henpecked in the true sense of the word he is 

Thanks again for the advice.  I am off to climb over a fence and hope I don't end up with egg on my face 

Remember to mark the old eggs with pencil so you don't accidently eat them  .
You can smash an egg or two on the ground for your girls - they will love them and get protein and calcium at the same time so no need to waste them. Some people scramble them but I never do as it contravenes DEFRA rules.
Don't worry that this may encourage egg eating it doesn't - well put it this way I have never had a hen who eats freshly laid eggs and in the wild this is what they would do to remove any evidence of broken eggs so predators don't find them.

I would have just put them in and not marked them   Just never thought of that so thanks again  I also like the idea of not having to waste them so I will smash a couple for them and for the 2 fat ladies as well.

I find it amazing that just when i think I have learnt all there is to know along comes something to scupper that idea  

ps. just had a thought, is it all right to give a couple of the eggs to the 2 fat ladies as they weren't the ones that laid the eggs?

Hussain Bolt has nothing on a hen with some good grub