My first post

[Companihen]

Hello all... just registered and excited to be here. I have 6 hens atm, 3 black copper marans 2 and half yos, 2 cream legbars 18mo and 1 lavender araucana bantam... she is maybe 4 yos. All very good layers and happy hens. Apart from my bantam, she's very feisty and I also have also just purchased 18 hatching eggs. 6 silkies and 12 silkie, frizzle mixes. So excited. My bantam is currently broody and has been sitting 17 days already on non fertile eggs or nothing if I've removed the eggs. Could I give her some of these new hatching eggs or has she sat too long? Appreciate any advice for my companion hens

 

[BantyChooks]

Welcome! Thanks for introducing yourself and your flock. I’ll let someone with more expertise answer your question.

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC. I'd try and break her. However, she may go broody again pretty quickly.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

17 days is a long time, she will probably break herself soon. I'd wait to give her eggs at her next spell. Best wishes with your flock!

 

[Kenneth Zweerink]

Welcome to BackYard Chickens. And a Big Hello from Eastern Nebraska!

 

[sourland]

Good morning, and welcome to BYC. I'd either break her broodiness or give her chicks to foster.

 

[Nomadicus]

Hello and Welcome to BYC. Glad to have you here in this poultry loving community. Good luck with your broody girl. I have doubts that she would sit long enough to hatch a new set of eggs now. If you could slip a few 3-4 day old chicks under her during the night she might love to foster those like @sourland said.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!!

Do you have an incubator? Or two more potentially broody hens? As you might have known, 1 hen can't sit on 18 eggs.

I personally would not allow your broody hen who has been broody already for over two weeks, sit on your hatching eggs for three more weeks. I have stopped allowing mine to be broody. It's hard work when you have a lot of silkie hens to keep "quarantining" but they look so much healthier now than before I started doing that.

If you have no incubator, you could split the eggs between two nests and see if your other hens suddenly take an interest. I know if I did that, I'd have hens fighting over who gets to sit on them.