So I have a broody

[peepmommy]

So two days before my chicks come in the mail, I end up with a broody hen! What are the chances of that?? I don't trust her to take the 15 chicks I ordered. She is young and I'm afraid she'll reject them. I was planning on raising them myself. Now, she's sitting on 15 fertilized eggs of hers and my other hens. I'm planning on letting her go to see what happens. Do I need to intervene at all? Will she do everything she needs to? How many days am I looking at? I really need a guide. If someone can help or even point me in the right direction.

Chicken math is really working this time. Only wanted 5 more chicks, ended up ordering 15 and have another 15 eggs!!!!

 

[teach1rusl]

If they're fertile, they should hatch at around 21 days, +/- a day or two. You can do a search on "candling eggs" to see how to do that - it's pretty cool to look for veins and such.
She will do what's needed to care for the chicks, although once she is well settled into the broody routine, you might consider putting her in a dog crate (door could be left open for now) in the coop, unless she's already in an out of the way area...that's mostly so that when the chicks are tiny no other chicken would bother them.

And you're right, she would most likely not take the chicks you've ordered. Most who try slipping chicks under a hen do so toward the end of the broody period, about when eggs would be hatching.