I got a few responses to this kind of question. Otherwise, I couldn't find much information on the topic. Below is a link to the thread I had strted about a hen off the nest.
Robin

Here is a link that might be useful: Hen off Nest Thread

They might still hatch, but if you have other fertile eggs you might be better off to start new ones. It won't hurt the hens to set for an extra week or even two.

If you decide to do this, wait until the hens are well settled on the current eggs again. You don't need to do it at night. Just reach under the hen, remove the eggs and then slip the new ones under her.

I have found that if I want to lift a broody for any reason, she objects less if I put my spread hand right under her breast and abdomen and then lift. You may still get pecked (oh, well) but the hen should be less upset. Gently rubbing their wattles also seems to relax them, like scritching a dog or cat behind the ears.

There was another recent thread on this topic... scroll down a bit and read it too. Then decide what to do.

Thanks for your help. One of the hens escaped (with electric mesh fencing!) and went back to the old coop. The other was more interested in getting out of there than sitting on the scattered eggs. We threw away all the eggs and are going to keep the one hen in the fenced area until she forgets she was broody.

It is pretty late for chicks to be hatching here anyway since they would have to be 20 weeks old before we could put them in with the rest of the flock and then we are into cold weather.

I'll bet the hens thought that they were in another hens' nesting area and freaked out trying to get out of there before she 'came back'. I had a similar experience when I tried to get a broody hen to accept a newly hatched chick--when I placed her in the broody box with the chick (who was all for having a mama and tried to snuggle under her) she freaked out and actually RAN from the baby. She couldn't get out and away from that box fast enough.

If you try it again, leave the broody on her eggs until a day or so before hatch, then move the individual hens and their eggs to seperate quarters--the hens will be much less likely to abandon the eggs since they will be able to hear the chicks inside. Don't try and put hens together in an enclosure.

Velvet ~:>

I'm new to having ducks and they are laying eggs but they are scattered all over our pond bank and the grassy areas and the ducks are not sitting on them yet. I read that they will need to lay between 8-12 eggs before they will set, but how are they going to do that if they are all over the place? We thought about moving them all to their duck house where they have some hay, but would they set on them if they don't belong to them?( We have 2 hens laying eggs and don't know who's eggs belong to whom) I don't feel good about touching the eggs at all. Won't they abandon them if we touch them? Also, I read that they are ok outside and not being set on for up to a week or until there are enough to nest on. Is that true? I haven't candled any of the eggs yet to see if they are fertile and thought that maybe they weren't since the ducks aren't setting on them. I'm afraid the duck will reject the eggs if we touch them. If they don't set on the eggs, we would like to get an incubator and start the hatching process. I just wanted to give our girls a chance to set on their own eggs and let it happen naturally. What is a broody hen? Any advice or aditional info would be great!