First timer- need help

[Jamandack]

I've had my chickens for about 16 months now and we've had an absolute ball with them! One went broody beginning of September. We waited a few days to make sure she was serious before putting some fertilized eggs under her. We got 3 brahma eggs, and she kicked two out around day 14. Day 21 was Monday (I believe).
How long do I wait before assuming it isn't going to hatch?
Do I get another few eggs to stick under her and try it again?
Do I just get a few chicks and replace the eggs with chicks in the middle of the night?
Should I go out and candle the egg tonight?? it's getting pretty brisk at night so I'm worried that if it's going to hatch I might be doing harm by taking it out from underneath her at night in the chilly air...???
I have no idea what I'm doing lol. I want her to do all the hard work and just let it be but I can't wait and it's driving me crazy!

 

[All Henned Up]

If you let her stay broody she will loose too much weight, so defiantly don't give her more eggs until she has a chance to recover, let other egg go 25 days (you can't be sure when she really started sitting on it full time) then toss it and put her in wire bottom cage for three days or until she lays an egg whichever comes first. The wire bottom lets cool air circulate under her helping to break broodiness.

Steve.

 

[Ridgerunner]

An easy way to tell when the 21 days are up is that the day of the week you started them is the day of the week they should hatch. If you started them on a Monday, they should hatch on a Monday. But that is just theory. There are a lot of different things that can affect when they actually hatch, whether in an incubator or under a broody. I’ve had them hatch under a broody 2 full days early. Some people on here I trust have reporting them hatching 4 days late under a broody. So if Monday should have been your magical day, give it until Friday.

Or you can candle that egg. The brisk air won’t hurt it in the time you take to candle it.

A laying hen builds up a lot of fat, especially in the pelvic area. When they go broody they don’t eat or drink a lot but that’s OK. They are living off that excess fat. A broody will lose a lot of weight but that is just fat put there for that purpose.

Your hen should have some more fat reserves but she is probably getting close to using it up. She might stay broody and hatch some eggs if you put new ones under her, but she might start suffering toward the end. I would not do it.

If you can get hold of some very young chicks, the younger the better, slip those under her at night after it is dark. Use as little light and commotion as you can. You are dealing with a living animal so I can’t give you any guarantees but the vast majority of the time she will accept those chicks and raise them as if she hatched them.

You said she kicked two out. For me that is tremendously rare. How high is the lip on that nest? You might want to raise the lip anther inch or two so the chicks don’t fall out if it is at all low.

 

[Jamandack]

An easy way to tell when the 21 days are up is that the day of the week you started them is the day of the week they should hatch. If you started them on a Monday, they should hatch on a Monday. But that is just theory. There are a lot of different things that can affect when they actually hatch, whether in an incubator or under a broody. I’ve had them hatch under a broody 2 full days early. Some people on here I trust have reporting them hatching 4 days late under a broody. So if Monday should have been your magical day, give it until Friday.

What would I be looking for? movement??

A laying hen builds up a lot of fat, especially in the pelvic area. When they go broody they don’t eat or drink a lot but that’s OK. They are living off that excess fat. A broody will lose a lot of weight but that is just fat put there for that purpose.

Your hen should have some more fat reserves but she is probably getting close to using it up. She might stay broody and hatch some eggs if you put new ones under her, but she might start suffering toward the end. I would not do it.

Gotcha. We've got a dog crate we can use.

If you can get hold of some very young chicks, the younger the better, slip those under her at night after it is dark. Use as little light and commotion as you can. You are dealing with a living animal so I can’t give you any guarantees but the vast majority of the time she will accept those chicks and raise them as if she hatched them.

You said she kicked two out. For me that is tremendously rare. How high is the lip on that nest? You might want to raise the lip anther inch or two so the chicks don’t fall out if it is at all low.
It's a 2x4 up against the front edge and I'd say there's about two inches of shavings in the box- so there's about two inches of board sticking above the shavings.Should I stack another one up there? She has a buddy that pals around with her when she's not broody and I've noticed her trying to snuggle up in the same nest to lay- could she perhaps have bumped the other two out maybe?

Thank you so much for the feedback! Fingers will be crossed (until I head out to candle it) (or until fri).

 

[Jamandack]

Candled the egg- doesn't look like it survived much past when we last candled it around day 15 my kids are heartbroken.
I can't find any local (utah) day old chicks at the moment so it looks like we're going to have to put her in a dog crate. With the temperatures dropping where should I put the crate? our coop isn't big enough to fit the kennel, we do have an empty shed that we could fit it in- would she stay warm enough without other birds to generate heat?? Thanks.