Staggered Hatch with a broody hen... can I switch the eggs she is sitting on? Plus one more question

[spatulagirl]

So I attempted to hatch out my first eggs in an incubator and they were stuck in the mail too long so nothing hatched. I am determined to hatch out some eggs but then my Silkie went broody so a friend gave me some Delaware/Red Star crosses to put under her (four eggs in all). She has been setting on them since Saturday night when I slipped them under her.

I already had an order for 2 dozen Silkie eggs to come and they were kind enough to send them to me early so I could slip them under my hen. They should arrive in a day or two.

I would prefer her to raise and hatch out all the Silkies if possible. Less work for me if I just have to raise four chicks vs two dozen. So I did a bit of reading through past posts and it seems as though I can still slip the Silkie eggs under her and leave the mutt eggs and just remove the mutts when they have hatched and are dry and fluffy. Do you think this method will work or should I take the mutt eggs and move them to the incubator?

Finally, she is in the coop and I want to move her to a pen in the garage. Can I do this now or is it too late? Should I wait until the chicks hatch?

Thanks for any and all advice!

 

[spatulagirl]

Anyone? The Silkie eggs will be here Monday and she has been setting on three eggs for a week by then.

 

[aoxa]

A silkie wouldn't be able to handle 2 dozen eggs. My cochin can only handle 14, and she is 3 times the size of a silkie.

What are you going to do with the eggs already under her?

 

[PtldChick]

If you are going to give her some of hte silkie eggs, I would take the other ones out and put them in your incubator. If they hatch under her, she might end up getting off the silkie eggs before they hatch, even if you take the chicks away...