Brooding hen 25+ days now

[BiggBen]

So I have a hen that has been brooding about 25+ days now, and I finally got some fertle eggs to put under her. My question: is it too late? Or will she hold out another 3 weeks? If not what can I do to foster a longer brood? She is an Orpington

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Yes she will probably set on those eggs all the way through I am guessing. You are actually possibly saving her life by breaking her broodiness with eggs, or putting her in a wire cage to get her to stop brooding. I had a hen die of brooding too long. I had tried twice to break her in a wire cage but didn't leave her for the full week like they say - only a day or two.

I have not read many other people saying they have lost hens to brooding, so I don't know if that is common or not. But I do take it seriously when I have a broody now, and try to break her or give her chicks.

 

[37 Caddy]

i had one that was broody for about 2 months,i dont have a rooster,i got fed up with her being like that so i got her some brown leghorn eggs,she is a little banty-standard cross,kind of looks like a brown leghorn herself,she sat on 12 eggs and hatched out 9,i was worried she would give up halfway through it all,but she hung in there.her other 2 sisters also went broody all at the same time,they also hatched out some chicks too,1 is already starting to lay again.I think they want to set until they have something to show for it?.Good Luck

 

[moontime]

we have one broody about 20ish days now, and she's sitting (on nothing) where the others like to lay so they are barely laying. They'll sometimes lay in another place (our mint bed) but pretty rarely. We've looked all over, I am worried they are laying somewhere we don't know about but can't find any.

Is this normal for the others to not lay while one is broody? They definitely are not being broody also, still walking around all day.

We have numerous nests for them to lay in in their coop but they all (3) like to lay in this particular spot next to our grill so we made a nest for them there.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

we have one broody about 20ish days now, and she's sitting (on nothing) where the others like to lay so they are barely laying. They'll sometimes lay in another place (our mint bed) but pretty rarely. We've looked all over, I am worried they are laying somewhere we don't know about but can't find any.

Is this normal for the others to not lay while one is broody? They definitely are not being broody also, still walking around all day.

We have numerous nests for them to lay in in their coop but they all (3) like to lay in this particular spot next to our grill so we made a nest for them there.

I would make sure you have golf balls or fake eggs in your nestboxes, and the other hens should be laying fine even with one broody around. Check for the usual things like worms, mites/lice or other illnesses. Since it is spring you should not have to worry about the 14 hours of light thing.

You can close everyone up in the coop for a while if the nesting everywhere gets out of hand. I don't tolerate nesting anywhere but inside the coop.