Broody chicken not getting off nest

okay so i have a broody chicken and i've been monitoring her for the past week, her name is penny, and she got off the nest the day she went broody and she did a poop and ate and drank etc.. but for the past 6 days, she hasn't hopped off the nest and the red thing on the top of her head is pale and i fear she might die or something. what can i do to make her hop off the nest and have a drink / eat. i dont want to feed her in the nest because then she might poo on her eggs and give them bacteria. shes sitting on 5 eggs, if she gets off the eggs, will they go cold and die?
please help

this is a picture of her

She will get up if she really needs too. My broodies tend to only get up at night when the other girls are roosting and wont try to claim her nest.

I bet she is just fine.

You are in the late spring there so it should be pretty warm. Most hens that time of year can get off of their eggs for 10 to 15 minutes and the eggs will still be OK.

I would still take some fish cans and put water and feed in front of her.

Broodies are usually real careful about not pooping on their clutch of eggs.

She is beautiful BTW.

okay, thanks for the idea
she hatched 5 eggs out of 7 about 2 months ago so i think it will be alright.

I always stick food and water within reach of the broody. I also get them up off of the nest and take them outside once a day for 5-10 minutes...basically to get their legs moving a little bit and to let them relieve themselves. Sometimes they don't want to walk around, so I just throw a little scratch about the ground and they usually start pecking, eating it up...then flapping their wings, running about, then....BROODY POO!! I started this habit because I unfortunately had the broody that was so dedicated and NOT willing to get up off of her nest, that some eggs DID end up getting poo'd on

After this ritual is done, she goes back on the nest til tomorrow

What I did with my broody hens (both buff Orpingtons) was to take them off the nest once (in the AM) or twice (in the late afternoon, but not always) a day. When you put her on the floor, they are in a trance like state for a bit. I stood with them, made sure no one else sat in that nest.

Made sure they at least ate a little bit, drank water, went outside to poop (boy it was big and stinky!!!) stretched, dust bathed, and then they ran back into the coop, maybe had another snack, and jumped back in the nest. It took all of about 5-10 minutes max! And very funny to watch.

Your broody may peck or bite you, so wear long sleeves or gloves. She should be ok, because they are not running around, they don't need as much food. I would make my broody a small treat all their own, maybe a scrambled egg w/plain yogurt, sprinkled some flock raiser on it. They don't eat much though. Just check in on her, she'll be ok!

Keep up updated, Joey8765! Its the most amazing experience!

Broodies that never get up to eat, drink and poo are the exception. Usually they do this once a day only. If you are not seeing poo on the eggs, they are getting up. They are not likely to get up when you are around; they tend to be secretive about it. Even if they are normally a pet.

It isd also normal for a broody to lose some weight and for their comb and wattles to go pale. Sometimes they endanger their own health, but normally they regain the weight and vigor after the chicks hatch.

I don't put food and water within the broody's reach because I want her to get up and walk around.

I used to have a broody who could care less whether I was around. She would get off the nest around 10 AM. She would eat, drink, poo, and go out and scratch and forage. She would stay off the nest maybe 15 minutes, then back she went. Her chicks hatched fine, and this was cool weather.

thanks for all the encouraging posts, i gave her some canned tuna (by the way, she is the only chicken in her coop besides the rooster and her 2 and a half month old chick)
I grabbed her off the nest and she did a great big poop and it smelt!! it was funny watching her madly scurry around trying to eat as much as she can!
i think she will be just fine

I have broodies hatching eggs all the time, so I here is what I've observed with my birds......

None of mine have ever starved themselves to death, and what's more, I've just had a broody leave the nest after sitting on eggs for two months. Poor her, because the chicks all ran off with foster moms, and she's been left with only one, which was the last and final egg to hatch.

I don't make any special arrangements for my broodies in terms of food and water. The eat out of their regular feeder, and the same applies to their water.

Even though you think they are not leaving the nest, they in fact are, but you just don't see it.

Mine only tend to be in a trance-like state when they're left alone. As soon as anyone or anything approaches, they become hissing little savages, but I only have one that will actually try to attack you. Unfortunately for her, she has a bad beak deformity so she can't do any damage at all.

As you mentioned in your post, your hen has hatched out chicks before, so I'm sure she knows what she's doing.

Apparently none of you have ever experienced the Great Poop Explosion from a broody who won't move. I picked her up after a few days and set her down in front of the food. You are right they will not poop on the eggs - they save it for when some poor fool like me picks her up and then BLAMO!!!!!!!!! Projectial chicken poop.