Do failed brooders need fresh eggs or chicks

heyduke

Hatching
Feb 23, 2017
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My wife has been told by a person who knows a lot about chickens that in order to get a hen, whose eggs failed to hatch, to leave the nest and stop brooding, we should either give her (the chicken ;) a few new fertile eggs or 2-3 live chicks.

Is it necessary to give the hen fertile eggs or live chicks to get her to get off the nest?

We have 5 Wyandottes: 4 hens and 1 rooster.
 
My wife has been told by a person who knows a lot about chickens that in order to get a hen, whose eggs failed to hatch, to leave the nest and stop brooding, we should either give her (the chicken ;) a few new fertile eggs or 2-3 live chicks.

Is it necessary to give the hen fertile eggs or live chicks to get her to get off the nest?

We have 5 Wyandottes: 4 hens and 1 rooster.
Allowing a hen to brood beyond 3 weeks is risky. They hardly eat or drink while brooding, and as a result deteriorate in condition. After 3 weeks, you would be risking serious illness or even death by giving her a fresh batch of eggs. Slipping some day old chicks under her will very likely get her to stop brooding and switch her to mothering mode. You could also try to break her brooding by keeping her in an elevated wire-bottom caged for a few days.
 

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