Broody and bought eggs question.

[Mvan42]

K so we have a hen who decided to go broody yesterday. I have eggs that is shipping today. Would it be safe to put say two under here after they get here. I know I have to let them sit a day to settle after delivery. Plan on starting the incubator Saturday. As thinking about putting two eggs under her then that way hatch day is the same and I can give her all the chicks to hatch. Has anyone done this and had a hen sit an extra week to hatch? Or should I just break her. Non of our eggs are fertile right now. She hatched 11 out of 12 in the spring, and that was her first time.

 

[Mvan42]

One other question, I have chicks I bought Saturday could I give them to her.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

If she just went broody yesterday I wouldn't give her the chicks you just bought. I like to let them sit for a while before introducing live chicks into the equation. Chickens can't count the days but they know when they've been sitting long enough to hatch babies or not and would be far more likely to reject chicks after only a day.

To answer your first question, I don't have any experience with shipped eggs but I have had success with all of the following methods.
- Broody hen incubated and hatched eggs from start to finish.
- I've swapped fake eggs out from under broodies on day 18 and allowed them to hatch the chicks that were otherwise incubated in the incubator for the first 18 days.
- And I've also swapped fake eggs out with newly hatched chicks in the middle of the night.

I will say that depending on your hen's personality they all seem to more readily accept eggs over chicks so if it were me, I would put a couple of eggs under her at the same time as setting them in the incubator since shipped eggs can be so finicky or leave her sitting on some fake eggs and wait until day 18 to sneak some under her. Is she a proven broody or a newbie?

 

[ADuckOnQuack]

One other question, I have chicks I bought Saturday could I give them to her.

Personally I wouldn’t as she may reject them potentially killing them

 

[Mvan42]

If she just went broody yesterday I wouldn't give her the chicks you just bought. I like to let them sit for a while before introducing live chicks into the equation. Chickens can't count the days but they know when they've been sitting long enough to hatch babies or not and would be far more likely to reject chicks after only a day.

To answer your first question, I don't have any experience with shipped eggs but I have had success with all of the following methods.
- Broody hen incubated and hatched eggs from start to finish.
- I've swapped fake eggs out from under broodies on day 18 and allowed them to hatch the chicks that were otherwise incubated in the incubator for the first 18 days.
- And I've also swapped fake eggs out with newly hatched chicks in the middle of the night.

I will say that depending on your hen's personality they all seem to more readily accept eggs over chicks so if it were me, I would put a couple of eggs under her at the same time as setting them in the incubator since shipped eggs can be so finicky or leave her sitting on some fake eggs and wait until day 18 to sneak some under her. Is she a proven broody or a newbie?

This is her second time broody she did great the first time.