here we go again --- broody hen -- :-(

[verity]

okay, we have another 'broody' ---- 'Darlene' is a blue Orp. -- year and a half old ---
she's been parked on the same nest-box for three weeks now --- she is 'out-and-about' first thing in the morning and then I take her off the nest twice a day -- her crop is usually full but she is getting thinner ---- (at least she is pleasant and doesn't bite or growl!)

today we moved her to the wire-crate-up-on-bricks deal that we've used before --

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two years ago we had a blue-laced Wyandotte who was 'broody' -- we did the crate thing with her three times --- she'd be fine for two or three weeks and then it was back-to-the-nest --- sigh ---- I ended up giving her to somebody who was looking for a 'broody' ---

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I've searched this site and can't find the answer to this question --

***Will a 'broody' ever just 'give up' on her own????***

I hate to see this one frantically trying to get back to her imaginary eggs ---
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[sourland]

Yes, most will eventually give up on their own, but the occassional determined hen will set so long and become so debilitated that she dies.

 

[verity]

Hey -- I knew I could count on you for an answer ---

So, if I keep making sure she gets off and eats/drinks, she should finally call it quits?

When she is taken off the nest the first thing she does is go to the dust-bath area for a 'freshening up' --- she is a 'plus-size' girl --

-- guess we'll do the crate thing for a while and then try again ---

--- do you have any idea of how long the usual 'broody-thing' takes to run its course?

 

[sourland]

Some hens seem to have an internal clock that causes them to quit shortly after 21 days. This sometimes goes awry and they quit early. Most in my experience will set far longer - even up to 6 or 7 weeks +. A problem that frequently afflicts such 'long term' setters is a build up of external parasites - one of the reasons your hen instinctively dustbathes every time she leaves the nest.

 

[verity]

well, that certainly explains the dust-bathing --- never would have thought of that ---

hay in nest-boxes is changed weekly and we use DE there, too ----

I check often for parasites but my eyes just aren't what they used to be -- (neither is anything else!)

your answers have been very helpful --- thanks!