Broody too long, Poor Tina

[ChickBond 007]

I have a 7 mo old silkie, TinaTurner, who was laying 1 egg daily quite faithfully. Then about a month ago, she decided that she would go broody, and hatch the one egg I'd missed. I didn't take it from her, and she's been in the nest box ever since.
To my non-chicken calculation, this egg is way overdue. I believe she's sat for 27 days now.
Is it possible that it is an infertile egg and Tina doesn't know it? Won't it start to smell if so? When will she give up?

First broody, and I'm worried about her.

 

[Judy]

Yes, eventually, and who knows. I'd remove the egg and take her off the nest, repeatedly if needed.

 

[ChickBond 007]

I candled Tina's egg today, and low-n-behold, I think there's a chick in there. (Maybe she does know what she's doing.) I added one of my BLRW eggs from the incubator underneath her. We'll try chick raising by hen for the first time.
Tina's chick (if it hatches) will be probably the ugliest designer chick ever -- a cross between a buff/red silkie hen and a cuckoo maran rooster. Can't even imagine what it will look like.

 

[Mahonri]

Good luck, but I'd imagine after 27 days that the first chick is dead inside... did you see movement?

 

[ChickBond 007]

I did not see movement, but it doesn't seem to weep or smell as I expected either. Could it be a slow hatcher because of low temp? It really didn't warm up here until about a week ago.

 

[ChickBond 007]

Update: When I left this morning, Tina's lonely little egg had pipped/zipped nearly all the way around. This was, to my calculation, a 30-day hatch. She knew what she was doing. I almost threw the egg away a couple time....

 

[babylady4]

Congrats! Post pics!