I have a broody English Orp whose eggs have 5 days left to go. She started out with 8 eggs, but wasn't tucking them under herself well enough (I kept finding stray eggs in the corner of the box, cold) so I put 6 of them in the incubator, and left her with 2. She's been good with those 2. I want to give her the rest of the eggs before lockdown, so she can finish them, hatch them and raise them, but now I don't know how well she'll do with that... She's 2 years old but hasn't sat on eggs before. Will I mess things up if I only give her some of the eggs back before lockdown, let the rest hatch in the incubator, and then slip them under her after they fluff up? They'd be the same age (and breed and color) as the ones under her. Theoretically, this should be an ideal scenario for sneaking chicks under a hen, since it would be the right time for her, and the right age chicks, but am I missing something? If I give her all of the eggs, I'm afraid she might mess up the hatch, like not cover all of them again and let them get cold or dry up... so I'm trying to weigh the risks of each path. What would you guys recommend? If you'd recommend hatching some in the incubator and then putting them under her, would you do that at night, or during the day? I've read arguments for and against both daytime and nighttime sneaking, so I'm really not sure which way is best. I want those babies to make it.
