Any harm in letting broody hens lie?

[SparksNV]

So I have a broody hen (no rooster). I do not want to put any fertilized eggs under because I don't want / need any more chickens (I know I heard most of you gasp at that! lol)

I don't have a way to put her in a wire cage with the ice cube thing. She is a very mean broody hen...

Is there any harm in letting her sit in an empty box until the "broodiness" passes? How long will that take?

Thanks!

 

[JP101010]

theres no harm unless she is an "extreme broody" in which case some hens will not get off the nest for anything , not even for food or water and so there is a risk of dehydration and possibly starvation... i have had one broody like this , and as long as pick her up off the nest and make sure i watch her eat and drink, shes ok.
so , no harm providing she will take a break once a day for food and water.
how long depends on the hen. some will only do it for 20 something days , some will go longer... it all has to do with her hormones- thats what makes her broody. seeing as we cant really manipulate our pet chickens hormones , theres no sense in driving both you and the hen nuts by switching to wire bottom cage or shocking the chicken with cold water.
Good luck! and enjoy knowing that if for some reason you want to hatch more , she will be there waiting for you to assist

 

[vnploveschickens]

There's no harm in letting her run her course.
But you might want to take her off the nest once a day, to poop, to run, stretch, dust bath, grab a little something to eat and drink.
I also let them sit on a couple of wooden eggs.

I always do that for my broody hens. Wear gloves if you need to so that they don't hurt you when you put her outside.

 

[kidcody]

I had 4 hens go broody all at once. I didn't let them hatch any chicks (don't need any more) two of the hens sat for a little over a month one hen almost 6 weeks and one of my hens have been sitting on eggs since April! I haven't been able to catch this hen, she is fast and she laid her eggs WAY under my patio. I've been so wooried about her, she is thinner then I like to see. She eats and walks around but is dead set on hatching those eggs (there is no rooster with her) so lately I've been feeding her cat food and she is looking better. They can be broody for along time. It doesn't hurt to just let her sit. Make sure she doesn't get to thin. Keep your eye on her. Good luck!

 

[SparksNV]

Thanks everyone! She hasn't laid any eggs to sit on so I put some golf balls in the box but she just moved to a different box. The other hens like to get in the box she is in to lay their eggs. But she is one mean, mean broody! She drew blood on one of my kids. She puffs up and hisses whenever I try to get near her...so it is a challenge to get the eggs out from under her.