Chicks and a broody hen

[4boyz]

Hey Yall! Not sure where to put this question, so here goes!
About 10 days ago, I tracked down some fertilized eggs and put them underneath my Buff Orpington who is broody. Tonight we candled(sp?) them and we saw nothing in the eggs at all. So the supposed fertilized eggs were not.

I have two questions.
How long do hens generally stay broody? If I were to track down more fertilized eggs, would she still lay on them the entire 21 days or should I expect her to snap out of it in another 10 days or when her eggs should have hatched? How long do fertilized eggs stay good?

What if I were to go buy 2 weeks old chicks and somehow stick them underneath her. Is there any chance she would "adopt" these chicks as her own and protect them from my other hens and keep them warm?

Thanks for any insight you may have!

 

[ChicKat]

It's always a dilemma as to what exact behavior any particular chicken will exhibit.

I have heard of folks placing day old chicks under the hen (at night) and the hen thinking that they hatched from the eggs that she sat on. It may be worth a try. Good luck with your outcome.

 

[BlueEggs4Life]

I've not done this but would like to - what I've read elsewhere is that if they are more than a few days old then even if mama takes to them they may not follow her around/take to her. Interested to see what else others have seen/done.