I have the same problem. My Ruby has been broody now for 5 weeks and I just cant break it so ive been leaving her in the garden hoping it will break by itselfI have a hen that is CONSTANTLY going broody. I usually give her the 3 days in broody jail to break her. Well, for the first time I decided to let nature do it's thing and her broodiness break on it's own... My question is, how long does that generally take?
T.I.A.
lol
it certainly looks that way lol
Hmm...I’m guessing this is only the case when you don’t force them to come out of the nest box so they can stretch, eat, etc.? Versus just letting them sit all they want. I have 3 hens right now (Cochin/buff Orpington mixes) who have been broody for the last few weeks. I don’t really have a need or want to eat their eggs, so lack of egg production due to broodiness isn’t an issue. We are planning on putting some fertile hatching eggs (ordered online because we don’t have a roo) under them, but prior to deciding that, we just let them be. BUT every morning when I open the coop for the day before leaving for work and such, I pick them up and force them to go outside, eat and drink. It works for a good 20 minutes before they go right back to the nest. I just repeat this after I get home at the end of the day, before it gets dark, or multiple times on the weekend if I’m around the yard. We’ve had no physical problems with them (at least not yet). I can see how it might be an issue if the hen is left to just sit and be broody all the time, because of course that’s exactly what she would do. But I think as long as you force them to get up and stretch more than once a day, they’re more than likely fine.
