Broody hen leaves the nest.

[dfarmann]

We have our first broody hen sitting on a nest in tall grass not far from there roosting house, and in the morning when we go to let the others out she is off the nest waiting for the others to come out and then she travels around the yard with her mate eating for a few hours then back to her eggs.

My question is, is this normal for a hen to be off her eggs for this long and every day?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Evelyn Walker]

Sometimes hens just don't brood properly (it's been bred out of them for most breeds). This depends on your climate, but the eggs she's sitting on will most likely not hatch if she's off them for so long.

 

[courtsmarans]

I often find my broody girls off their clutch of eggs and wandering around for food/getting a drink. They are usually not off them for more than an hour at a time though.

 

[igorsMistress]

It depends on your climate. She has to eat, drink, poop and have a bath. It's normal for her to leave the nest yes so don't give up on the eggs.

 

[dfarmann]

Well it looks like while the hen that original started to set on the nest now has a helper.

A few weeks ago we had a night time varmit distroy a nest and that hen never returned, well now she is helping with nesting duties with the hen that wasn't staying on her nest.

We set up the incubator this weekend and have the temp and humidity all ready and was going to pull some eggs from this nest but will well enough alone now, and will try to find another nest to borrow from.