broody not on eggs??

[presley]

Ok I am on day 6 of broody sitting tight on eggs,in a separate, private enclosed area with a little run. I have not even seen her get out of her spot to eat and drink or poop. This morning I opening the door to her box, and she got up and went out, and is still out. Thats been about 15 minutes ago. How long is too long for her to stay off the eggs?

 

[Ridgerunner]

It depends on your weather and the other conditions. In cooler weather, my broodies don't spend great amount of times off the eggs, but in the heat of summer, they can stay off for a lot longer than 15 minutes, sometimes an hour or so. And maybe twice a day.

It takes a while for the core temperature of the eggs to cool off enough to cause any harm. Being broody is an instinct. Occasionally some don't get it quite right, but the amazing thing is that most of them get it right based purely on instinct.