My hen has been broody for almost 3 weeks, can I still put fertile eggs under her?

[thumper76]

I have a gold wyandotte who so wants to have a family. It really suprised me she went broody as she is just 9 months old. She has been sitting in the box for weeks, the other hens will either lay in the box next to her or just squeeze into her nest and lay with her in there. I have kicked her out of the coop for two days and she just rushes back in there when I put her back in the run. We don't have a roo but I thought I might buy some fertile eggs and let her hatch them, will she still sit on them even if she has been broody for quite some time?
TIA

 

[Srcher]

I have a black maran who has been doing that for a couple of weeks, she scares the other chickens out of the coop, she looks like she crawled out of hell. But she is harmless. I put some plastic Easter eggs under her cuz she has been taking over the other two chicken's eggs. Yesterday she broke one of the eggs and almost ate it but I caught her. She is not laying either. Good luck.

 

[nurse_turtle]

I'd go ahead and give her a couple or 3 fertile eggs. When they hatch, she will stop brooding and spend the next 6+ weeks raising her chicks.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yep, go ahead. I have a broody that just sat over 2 months. She was broody a week before I gave her anything, only 1 chick hatched and then there was a fight over the nestbox and a hen ended up killing the chick the day after it hatched. My broody went back to sitting, so I gave her some eggs that were under another broody and she hatched a chick last week in a segregated area of the coop. I let them out yesterday (chick is 9 days old) and everything was fine today.

Anyhow, long answer, but yes - you can go ahead and give her eggs. Just watch her weight.