broody hen - smuggling in chicks- advive pls

[cally]

Hi.

Ive got a hen that is determined to hatch some eggs, but her 1st clutch never hatched, but she got really stressed out + tried to nest in a hedge (easy fox dinner) after trying to keep her off them. So I put 14 day old fertile eggs from the incubator under her, but its now day 27.

For some reason these havent hatched either. Not sure what is going wrong.

I have got 2 eggs in bator due to hatch in 3-4 days, if I hatch + then smuggle the chicks with empty shells under her late at night, will she accept them as her own + get off the nest?

I dont want to try this if the chances are she will kill them, but also i am worried about her losing too much weight,

She is a cochin x silkie so is very laid back.

Any advice would be most appreciated

 

[SmartyChick]

I did this once and it worked out great. But there are risks. Momma may not fall for it and kill them or just not sit on them. Either do it while she's sleeping at night or really early in the morning. And watch watch WATCH! My hen woke up when we shoved them under her but accepted them anyway. If she sleeps through it and you are not there when she wakes up, you may come out to dead chicks.
I say go for it, just have a backup in case things don't work out.