Broody hen

[buggie]

One of my hens is broody. If I let her just do her thing how long until she quits being broody?

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Well assuming she is sitting on fertile eggs and you want them to hatch, 21 days from start to finish, give or take a day.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
So, you mean you don't have fertile eggs for her to sit on, right? Some hens will give up pretty easily if you just keep taking them out of the nestbox (and they have no eggs in there to sit on). Other hens are more determined, and will keep going back to an empty nest and sitting there for 3-4 weeks.

The usual incubation period is 21 days, but it's common for a hen to set for a week or more after that period if she's sitting on eggs.

There are other hens who jump off even a nest of eggs before the 21 day incubation period (not a good broody!).

So it very much depends on the individual.

 

[buggie]

Yep no fertile eggs, she has been been broody for close to three weeks now. I have tried taking her off the nest but she just goes back there. I did have golf balls in there and I took them out.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

I had a NH try to go broody on me a couple of weeks ago. But with winter knocking on the door I said no way! I put her in the storage area of my coop with food and water and the cold bare floor, nothing that she could make a nest in. Three days later she decided she did not want to be broody and joined the rest of her flock.