taking advantage of a broody hen

[cptbahama]

I have a blue-laced red wyandotte that is BROODY. We don't have a rooster so I'm wondering if I can buy some hatching eggs online and put them under my broody wyandotte? If that's possible, here are some more questions..
How many eggs should/ can I get for her to sit on? I was thinking I would buy some rare breed eggs, that way I could sell the chicks and possibly turn a small profit.
Do the eggs HAVE to be chicken eggs? I mean she doesn't know the difference so could I get, say, ring-necked pheasant eggs?
Thanks for any help and advice. I'm building a brooder for her.

 

[DraigAthar]

Sure, you can put other eggs under her, I do it all the time! If she's a standard Wyandotte (not bantam) she can cover 12-18 hen eggs, though 18 is pushing it if she's not a big hen. I usually limit my broodies to 9-12 eggs, but they'll try their best to cover whatever you give them. They don't have to be chicken eggs, but if you want her to raise the chicks they do at least have to be a precocial species. I know people give duck eggs to broody hens all the time. Never heard of pheasant eggs under a broody hen, but I bet someone has tried it.

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: Heh, numbered your questions to make it simpler.
1) Yeah, you can, plenty of people do.
2) For a normal sized hen 6 normal sized eggs is a starting number. Depending on the hen she could possibly cover up to 12 or so. I wouldn't advise getting rare breed eggs to start with if you've never raised chicks before because they're more expensive but I don't know your level of experience, so, just do what you feel like doing. I guess. If she's not a proven mother though you could be buying more expensive eggs only to lose more expensive chicks, and the same goes for you being able to raise them to sellable age if you're not experienced. For first time mothers I advise disposable chicks, or cheap ones, which don't represent a waste of good genes or money.
3) No. But chooks are among the toughest of poultry, and waterbirds under hens require a bit of know how, and game birds can be delicate, as with turkeys. I wouldn't bother with anything other than chicken chicks for a first time mother. Some hens can learn the difference though and will kill or abandon different species chicks.

Best wishes.

 

[cptbahama]

Thank you all so much! I'd say I'm somewhat of a novice chicken keeper so I will stick with chicken eggs. I've been keeping chickens for a little more than 2 years. The first broody hen I had, I gave her away. But I have a 4 year old daughter that is super excited about seeing chicks hatch; as is her daddy

 

[chooks4life]

Hope it's a good experience for the both of you. All the best.