We have a Salmon Faverolle hen that went broody. Ignored her for awhile, but then one day the kids said hey the ducks have mated why not stick a duck egg under her. So we stuck 2 undr her. between 1-2 wks I said ok lets candle just to see. One egg nothing the other has beautiful vessels and a big dark splotch. Tossed the one, left the one. Last Friday we picked up 9 Columbian Wyandotte eggs to attempt to hatch. Kids stuck them all under her. So not this little Banty Fave is sitting 1 duck egg and 9 chicken eggs...and couldn't be happier. So, question time. Kid has a chickbator. She is out of town until Jan. 1st. She wants to put a few of the eggs in the bator when she gets home. Will this be to late? Should I pull them now and stick them in the bator? Would it be better to wait a few days? How long should I let them sit before candling?
I don't see a problem either way. I had a silkie sit on eggs for a couple weeks to find all were duds. I think she may have been off of them for too long at one point. So I took a few eggs I had in my incubator and stuck them under her at night. She never knew the difference and a week late they hatched. I have also pulled eggs from a broody hen when I though she had too many to handle. Important thing would be to make sure the incubator runs for 24 hours to make sure it is at a consistent temp. Hope this helps. One other thing....I don't know the temps where you area at, but here, it is pretty cold at night and all my chickens that are trying to go broody, I am discouraging them. I don't want to end up with frozen chicks. And one more thing. When the first chicks hatch, generally the hen will give the other eggs only a few days before she will abandon them. If your first eggs are 2 weeks along already then I wouldn't keep the eggs under her the entire time. I candle my eggs at 5-7 days.
