How long will a broody sit on fake eggs

[Raccoon lady]

One of my hens is broody and I just ordered some fertile eggs online. They will be here in a few days. My only concern is that my broody Orpington has been sitting on fake eggs for almost 2 weeks. Will she give up sitting on the ordered eggs before they hatch?

 

[JubileeFarmer]

She is unlikely to give up before they hatch. My Orpington hen is currently raising five chicks that she hatched after being broody for 5 weeks. It took me two weeks to get eggs for her. I believe that many hens will sit for longer than that although the length of time should be minimized as much as possible because many hens will sit long enough to have a negative impact on their health.

 

[Raccoon lady]

She is unlikely to give up before they hatch. My Orpington hen is currently raising five chicks that she hatched after being broody for 5 weeks. It took me two weeks to get eggs for her. I believe that many hens will sit for longer than that although the length of time should be minimized as much as possible because many hens will sit long enough to have a negative impact on their health.

Ok thanks so much! What type of Orpington is she?

 

[JubileeFarmer]

Ok thanks so much! What type of Orpington is she?

She is a Buff Orpington.

 

[sourland]

She may or she may not. Most hens if kept free of mites/lice will set beyond the normal 21 day period, but some will not. Have a 'Plan B' in mind for the eggs just in case.

 

[GigitheBackyardHerbilist]

One of my hens is broody and I just ordered some fertile eggs online. They will be here in a few days. My only concern is that my broody Orpington has been sitting on fake eggs for almost 2 weeks. Will she give up sitting on the ordered eggs before they hatch?

I didn't know you could do that! Order them on line! Lol that's great!

 

[Raccoon lady]

She may or she may not. Most hens if kept free of mites/lice will set beyond the normal 21 day period, but some will not. Have a 'Plan B' in mind for the eggs just in case.

Ok, my plan B would be to put them in my incubator. Would that work?

 

[sourland]

Ok, my plan B would be to put them in my incubator. Would that work?

Yep. Fire it up around week 4 to make sure it is holding temperature.

 

[Raccoon lady]

I didn't know you could do that! Order them on line! Lol that's great!

Yes, I ordered them off ebay. I've heard how bad eBay's eggs are, but I wanted to give it a try.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It's not ebay that is bad, it's the individual you deal with. Some are good, some less so. And ebay has no control over how they are handled during shipment. Neither does the person that shipped them. I've had great hatches with shipped eggs, I've had horrible hatches with shipped eggs. I haven't had any close to 50%, in my limited experience they are either good or bad.

You never know what a living animal will do. Most broody hens will incubate the eggs for 5 weeks or more, some won't last 2 weeks. I think your odds are really good. Wishing you the best.