Counting Chicken Before They Are Hatched

     Twenty days ago in the middle of the night (ok, 9pm) we snuck out to our chicken coop and hijacked a broody hen and her eggs.  We then stealthily replaced her eggs with 11 fertile eggs of a different breed. We also moved her ENTIRE nesting box to a separate area so she could be left in peace by the other hens.
   
     Then it was time to hold our breath.  Would she reject the new eggs?  Did we put too many eggs under her?  Was she really broody or was I misreading her.
   
     It was a little touch and go that night.  At first she tried to settle in on her nest in the new location but then quickly decided she was not going to set on them.  She just stood there, staring at us.  We decided to giver her an hour  and see what happened.  So after watching the Big Bang Theory and 2 Broke girls on the DVR I went and checked on her.

     She was sitting just like a good momma ON THE GROUND and not her new eggs. Fantastic, now what? I went back in the house and we had a discussion about what to do next.  Do we give her more time, or maybe we should just put her on the eggs?  Maybe she wasn't broody and we just wasted some perfectly good and expensive fertile eggs.  We decided to wait.  I started Googling like mad.  How long are fertile eggs ok for (about 6 hours)?  If you move a broody hen will she always stay broody (no).  How much is an incubator?  How fast can I get one?

     By now it after midnight and I am tired and worried.  I decided to go out there again and check on her.  She was still on the ground.  So I made a move.  I picked her up and set her on the eggs.  She made a "skkkwwaaa"  noise at me and the she settled on in.  WOO HOO!!! But would she stay there?  Back in the house I went and into my warm bed.  I set the alarm for 3 am and tried to sleep.

     3 AM came and out I went again.  I may be in Arizona but the nights can be cold in spring.  I was not digging the 50 degree weather at all.  A mad dash outside in my pj's and Boggs to check on the momma and she was sitting like a good momma, on her eggs.

    Finally, I could relax, go to sleep and check on her in the morning.  In the morning she was there sitting pretty on her eggs.
   
    That was 20 days, or should I say nights ago.  With any luck tomorrow my eggs will "pip" and a few hours later I will have 10 cute little chicks running around.