I have a broody who has been sitting 10 eggs for a week. Apparently she got off to feed and returned to the wrong nest box where my other (non-broody)girls laid their daily eggs. The 10 are now cold, like close to fridge cold. She was on them last night, but I don't know what time she got off of them today. Can they still hatch or is it useless? If I put them back under her tonight? They are currently warming up on my kitchen counter wrapped in a towel.
Why not put her back on now? Just in case? I know nothing of hatching eggs but would imagine the longer she is off them the less chance they have. . Id put her out of the other nest and into the right one (or swap her eggs for those she is on) asap while waiting for some answers. If she is anything like my broodies it will take more than that little disturbance to send her off the nest
I'd put them back under her. They may very well hatch anyway. But this is likely to happen again. They will also move eggs from one nest to another, lay their egg in her nest with her in it, break an egg during the shuffling, etc. It's really best to isolate a broody while she is setting. She needs enough space to walk around a little, poop, for food and drink of course, and a dust bath is a good thing. The first time I let a broody hatch eggs, she was in the coop with the others. I marked which eggs I'd chosen to be hatched with a Sharpie, and I went to the coop several times a day to put the broody back on the right eggs in the right nest, as needed. I don't remember the numbers, but some of them hatched and some did not. Now I have a separate "room" in the coop, with walls of chicken wire, about 5' x 5', where I can house a broody, injured chicken, etc. Once the chicks have hatched, they want to get out with the flock so I let them. A good mama protects the chicks, and I just feed everyone starter or grower or flock raiser. People who often have broodies and chicks often feed only flock raiser, as all ages can eat it.
