need info on placing fertile eggs under broody hen

[bassfishrman]

I have 2 hens and 1 rooster. One hen has gone broody in the last few days, the problem is that her eggs aren't fertile. (She is too fast for the rooster). My other hen does have fertile eggs. The rooster has no problem "breeding" her. I want to take the fertile eggs and place them under the broody hen.

The hen that lays the fertile eggs lays an egg a day. Can I just take the daily fertile egg and place it under the broody hen, or does it need to be kept at a certain temperature? Will the broody hen quit laying her unfertile eggs when I have enough fertile eggs under her to hatch?

Another questions: When does the 21 day incubation period begin? When the first egg is under the broody hen or when she has all she can cover?

I'm new at this chicken stuff, but am loving it. Any advice you can give will help.

 

[CarriBrown]

You can place fertile eggs under your broody. She will actually stop laying once she has enough eggs under her. Just mark the eggs that are fertile with the date so you only take her non fertile eggs out (as far as the date, it will give you a better idea of the hatching date, or you can do like me and put a chicken stamp on your calender!). The fertile eggs can stay room temp for about a week. That way, all the chicks can hatch at the same time. Mom wouldn't be able to keep track of everyone if she had a chick hatching every day for a week. The 21 days starts when Mom has all she can cover and stops laying.