Swap unfertile egg for chicks under my broody?

[abqferreira]

I have a bantam who is broody for the 4th time in the past year. I don't have any fertile eggs to give her, and she's been sitting on an unfertile one for 2 days now. Can I let her sit on it for a few weeks, then remove it during the night and sneak a few chicks from the feed store under her? Will she know the difference? Will she take them in as her own? I can't afford to buy fertile eggs til next weekend, then it will take another week to get them here- by then, she'll be 2 weeks into it. Just wondering whether I can simplify things here...

If I can swap the unfertile egg for chicks, how long should I let her sit on the egg?

Julie

 

[shesell]

Well, this is the first time I have had broody hens so I am not an expert, but here is what I tried. I had one hen who had eggs and one that wanted some...bad. She just kept trying to sit on the unfertile eggs everyone else laid. She'd sit and I would take them out from underneath her every day. So, when the first hen hatched her first baby, she was kind of distracted, so, at night, I transferred some of the eggs to the hen who had none. She was thrilled and started to set very happily. She had been broody for WEEKS, so, maybe your hen will be happy to wait for the real eggs like mine!