Problem is hens go broody when they want to go broody, not when you want them to. The only thing that might make a difference is when one goes broody SOMETIMES others will follow. Maybe. When they are in the mood, they don't care if there's 10 eggs, no eggs or wooden eggs. I removed eggs and one girl sat for 3 more weeks on nothing before giving up. I wouldn't waste eggs until I saw some early signs (like staying in the nesting box way longer than usual or formerly docile hens growling or fussing at you when you try to move them off todays eggs). Silkies go broody frequently but that depends a lot on the individual chicken. I have a year old silkie who has never been broody and a a 10 month old who is starting in for the second time.
They will steal eggs from other hens too. I had new 3 settling broodies, so I separated them to the broody pen, which is a smaller pen adjoining the main pen with its own flat-to-the-ground broody box so new chicks don't have to go up and down ramps. The girls stayed a few days locked off from everyone else and seemed happy so I opened the door back to the big pen so they could go out in the main yard when they left the eggs once or twice a day to eat and drink. 95% of the time they were in the broody house setting on their eggs. Well a few days later I found an egg at the bottom of the ramp to the big chicken house. I thought that was odd but I picked it up didn't think about it until the next day. I stood outside the gate and watched a broody rolling an egg down the ramp from the big chicken house, across the yard, through the open gate to the broody pen, and into the broody house. It took her about 10 minutes. Then she settled down on one more egg.
