Hen setting now day day 22, 3 chicks are hatched but there are still 9 eggs under her. Do I remove these?

Question

My hen started setting on 6 eggs the 19th of july. She kept laying and added 6 more eggs, total 12. On August 7th 3 chicks hatched out. She is still setting on the unhatched eggs. The 3 chicks are doing fine. I candled some of the unhatched eggs, they are brown eggs and not real easy to see the insides. Some of the eggs were completely full of a dark shadow. Some had a dark spot about the size of a small marble. What does this mean? Should I let her keep setting or take the eggs from under her ? If I need to take the eggs from under her do I do it now or give them another day or two? Thank you for your help with this!

Answer 1

When I have hens to sit I take the chicks as they hatch and raise them myself and let the hen stay on the nest as long as she wants. You can also put more eggs under her if you want more chicks. If you do not want to raise the chicks you should take out the eggs with the smaller dots. If they were laid by the hen around the same time and if they are alive they should be "full" looking. If she raises the chicks then she'll come off the nest when she needs to and leave the dead ones or sick ones in the nest. I would give them at least a week.

Answer 2

it will not hurt to give them another day or two.