Will a chicken sit on quail eggs?

[Viergacht]

I'm bored enough I kind of want to try hatching grocery store quail eggs. I don't have an incubator, but I do have a Barred Rock hen that acts like she's about to go broody . . . my question is, would a hen sit on quail eggs, given the size difference? I know hens will hatch out ducks and things, but quail eggs are so tiny. If I put some decoy fake chicken eggs in there, too, would that keep her on the nest, and would she turn the smaller eggs, too or just ignore them? I don't want to put the hen thru the stress of being broody if there's no hope, of course, I'm just interested to know if anyone has direct knowledge of something like this happening.

 

[nuthatched]

I think a large fowl chicken will squash Quail eggs. Maybe a true bantam could, like a d’Uccle or sebright but anything else could crush them.

 

[sourland]

She would most likely incubate the quail eggs, but it would also be likely that she would inadvertently break them by stepping on them.

 

[Gallinarium]

You'd need a bantam to try quail eggs. Also, most quail eggs from stores won't hatch for one reason or another, (Refrigeration, infertility, jostling...)