Will broody hen stay on duck eggs after day 21?

[George678]

Hi , I’m on around day 21 of hatching duck eggs under a broody hen and am getting a little bit worried that it’s gonna abandon the nest. Should I be cautious or do you think it will stay there another week until day 28 ? Thanks

 

[sourland]

Most will set that long, but an occasional hen will not. Do you have an incubator 'just in case'?

 

[Ridgerunner]

You never know what any living animal will do, anything can happen. But I often do not give my hens chicken hatching eggs until they have been broody a week, waiting to make sure she is truly broody and deserves eggs or it may take that long to collect all the specific eggs I want her to hatch. That means they can go past 28 days of being broody. All of mine stay broody until the eggs hatch.

I never worry about a hen stopping early. It could happen the next time, you never know what a living animal will do, but it has not yet.

 

[George678]

Most will set that long, but an occasional hen will not. Do you have an incubator 'just in case'?

No , but I’ve got other broody hens

 

[Chloe wills]

Hello I have duck eggs in an incubator on day 24, I also have an extremely broody hen with no eggs. Do you think it’s a bad idea to put the duck eggs under the hen considering they’re nearly fully developed?