Hen setting 8 weeks now! What to do?Will she go blind?

[Chickenfeet]

I had a silkie that was broodie for about 8 weeks. She never sat on the same clutch of eggs. Played musical nest box. I finally had to remove her from the cop. I made a small temporary pen for her in the run, so she could not return to coop until I locked up at night. Of course make sure she has food and water. A change of scenery does wonders. Haven't had a problem since.

 

[shadygardener]

Yesterday when Thelma Lou exited the nest for a snack, I took a look to see if the eggs were there and there was another, so I guess she's started back laying already! I marked the ones that were there, and I guess I'll remove the fresh one each day. If the other hen layed it while Thelma Lou was up snacking, she did it mighty quick! Usually they sit for quite a while to squeeze out their egg, so I figured it was Thelma Lou's. I don't know what I'm going to do about it. She sure does want a baby!

 

[AHappychick]

I would just put a chick under her if you can get 1 or 2. I just did that with my 2nd silkie to go broody. that gets them up and around again in no time since the chicks like to explore and all that. Worked like a charm wit my other, she has one chick and seems much happier than when she was sitting on eggs. Going broody too long is not good for them and 8 weeks is a long time.
Good Luck

 

[blackfootfarm]

So do you think that if they are a fairly young hen that putting a chick under her would work? I have one that has been laying for a fairly short period of time but I only get an egg every 6 days or so and she spends great amount of time on the nest. She is like 6 months old, I rescued her from a guy in town that was not treating her right. I recently got a roo and he roosts in her hen house that came with her, of which she would not let the juveniles to roots in there with her at night. She is really sweet in temperament she is a buff. What do you all think? Oh I almost forgot she pecks the eggs that she lays......

 

[tryingtohaveitall]

Quote:
Well, I was told as a teen certain behaviors would have the same effect, but I did 'em anyway. I can't say my sight is perfect, but I'm a long way from blind.

I didn't grow hair on my knuckles, either.

I was thinking something along those lines, maybe the farmer who said it'd make her go blind is confused and told the teenaged kid next door that he would grow feathers or lay an egg if he continued in those other behaviors.

This is why I love this website. This is the funniest thing I've read in a looong time.

 

[AHappychick]

Quote:
well each hen is different but mine went broody about 2 months after she began laying and has been a great mother, same with the other one although sh has been laying for 3 months and has been watching the other momma with baby. they all live together.

 

[Jilara]

My hen Juanita was broody for 3 MONTHS until we finally gave her some chicks to raise. My main concern was that she was going to starve herself. She was brooding straw for the last two months before we got the chicks. Nothing I did seemed to help break her out of the trance. She'd come out for maybe twenty minutes a day to hastily eat, then it was right back to brooding straw. She seems to be pretty normal, now, having raised her babies, but she had me worried.

 

[Stray]

I had a hen do that, she was setting on 16 dud eggs. She sat there for a very long time... I can't remember how long. Her name was Big Momma, she was big, and she was old.
Finally I gave up and stole the eggs away when she got up one morning and replaced them with 12 soon to hatch random breed eggs about five days later she was up and pecking away at the grass by our back porch with little peeps running around making the tall grass move. Really cute.

 

[shadygardener]

Thanks for telling me that. The eggs she's setting on now should hatch next week, if they're not duds. If they don't hatch, I think we'll try to just buy her a baby at the feed store and sneak it under her in the middle of the night.

 

[blackfootfarm]

Is there a reason they would peck their eggs?