Tricking Broodies into sitting on eggs

[O.C.Chick]

Hi,

Do chickens know how many days they're been sitting on eggs, and does that affect their maternal behavior (like how long they'll get off the nest. OR...Do they respond to the sounds of the developing chicks in the eggs and base their behavior on that???

I have a chicken that just went broody today, and have had eggs in the incubator for a bit over one week. She's a good mom, so will definitely sit on the eggs...(She's sitting on fake eggs that she thinks she laid right now.)

QUESTION IS: If I swap the fake eggs out for the fertile eggs, will she know that they're almost ready to hatch and adjust her caring for them accordingly, or will she be on a 21 day schedule?....AND if they DO hatch in a week or so, will she remain broody, or snap out of it when she hears babies hatching?

Thanks!

p.s. If this post belongs in the "incubating / hatching eggs section, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I'LL RE-POST!!! I couldn't decide which was more approprieate!

THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!

 

[Bawk Vader]

I have done it with serama's, and a black australorp with success. They sit until the eggs hatch then they are momma. I have a goose doing the surrogate sitting now on some eggs I got in the mail. Good luck.

 

[O.C.Chick]

Thanks! That's encouraging! Anyone else had the same luck?

 

[O.C.Chick]

My potential new mom is a 14 month old bantam Araucana (A full-breed)...This is the second time she's gone broody, which is pretty unusual at such a young age . But. Last time she sat on an empty nest for an entire month, so I think she'd be a good mom. But... she's a pretty wild one, so not sure if she'll behave like my silkies!