how long can a broody hen be off her eggs?

[Gypsy52]

Hello everyone.. my australorpe broody decided to create her own nest in some scrubbed scrap wooded area in my neighbors backyard next to my fence. I didn't move her.. I incubated the holes as best I could with straw..she does come out on nice days for 30 min or so to eat stretch and defecate.. my first time.. she's been a good mama.. today is 3rd storm.. I covered the entry hole with a 4by4 PCWorld of plywood after I checked on her.. today is day 12, 9 more days..

next week of April 4 is hatch week..

 

[Gypsy52]

Guinnys choice

 

[Catandherchicks]

Thank you, everyone who has posted their experience and results with a cold egg (s). It's given me hope that it'll be ok. First timer here; me and young broody hen. One week down and had pooped on eggs and let eggs get cold to the touch. She was off the nest for maybe 15 minutes. She didn't seem interested in returning to the nest even though she was softly clucking the entire time. I caught her, put her back in the crate and it took all of 3 seconds for her to settle in, pull the eggs in position and go back into a coma.

I had taken her outside in her crate as it didn't appear she'd gotten off the nest to eat or drink and then she pooped in the crate and got some on the two eggs. I wiped them off, changed the bedding, put the eggs back on the fresh hay and she settled right back in. My plan now is to take her outside each day for the next week and maybe she won't stay off the nest so long. She dust bathed, big broody pooped, and ate fresh clover for the first time outing in a week. We'll see. I LOVE BYC!

 

[whimsychickens]

Will a broody hen stay on the nest all night? Or get up on the roost?

 

[aart]

Will a broody hen stay on the nest all night? Or get up on the roost?

Broody will stay on eggs all day and night....only leaving nest to eat, drink, and poop each day.

 

[cntherron]

Question. I have two broody hens. One set of eggs should be due tomorrow and one set should be due sometime next week. 2 days ago, knowing that time was growing close, I moved their nests up a shelf because other chickens were laying in their nests. Yesterday after they got off the nests to eat, they didn't get back on. We noticed it several hours later. We out them back on and they stayed on them until sometime today and got off again, guessing to eat. I guessing they were off the nest for more than 6 hours at a time. However I noticed other chickens hopped into their nest and laid eggs. So there eggs may have been warm during that time. My question is the eggs that were due tomorrow are they pretty much gone? I read that if eggs were cold any period before 14 days they probably can still survive. Has anyone had luck with cold eggs after day 14? Thanks in advance.

 

[thebulg]

I had a hen go off for 9 hours today. I have a remote thermometer, so i can keep track of the temps. The eggs stayed between 77-79° and when she is on them, they register more around 85. Anyway. They are on day 4, 5 or 6, i'm not really sure. Has anyone had a hen go missing from her clutch that long, this early, and it turn out ok?

 

[aart]

Question. I have two broody hens. One set of eggs should be due tomorrow and one set should be due sometime next week. 2 days ago, knowing that time was growing close, I moved their nests up a shelf because other chickens were laying in their nests. Yesterday after they got off the nests to eat, they didn't get back on. We noticed it several hours later. We out them back on and they stayed on them until sometime today and got off again, guessing to eat. I guessing they were off the nest for more than 6 hours at a time. However I noticed other chickens hopped into their nest and laid eggs. So there eggs may have been warm during that time. My question is the eggs that were due tomorrow are they pretty much gone? I read that if eggs were cold any period before 14 days they probably can still survive. Has anyone had luck with cold eggs after day 14? Thanks in advance.

@cntherron ....did they hatch?

I had a hen go off for 9 hours today. I have a remote thermometer, so i can keep track of the temps. The eggs stayed between 77-79° and when she is on them, they register more around 85. Anyway. They are on day 4, 5 or 6, i'm not really sure. Has anyone had a hen go missing from her clutch that long, this early, and it turn out ok?

If it's very warm outside, they may stay off nest longer.
Did she go back to nest?
Candle in a few days to check for development.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/496101/broody-hen-thread

 

[thebulg]

I brought her back. All day she was very odd. She stayed in 2 bushes, and she was doing the soft clucking and still growling at me, and moving so so so slowly. She didn't even attemot to run from me. I picked her up, put her on the nest, and she looked very confused. I hung some t shirts over the opening (she is on a shelf in our barn, by choice) so she CAN get out, but has to be motivated about it. I also closed the barn door halfway and within a minute of that she settled back on and is completely back in the trance.i think it's possible she got up this mlrning for the first time in 3 days and just got caught up socializing with everyone. Little delirious! When she gets up again in a few days i will candle and hope for the best.

 

[thebulg]

She is still on this morning, still very much in the broody trance, and the thermometer is reading at 75°, but i dont think the probe all the way under her. She moved back toward the wall. Either way, i'm starting to realize just how much the 99.5 incubator temperature does not correlate to nature at all!!! And that makes me wonder if incubating at lower temps works! You gotta figure someone did research somewhere along the way and got 99-100 for a reason. But clearly chickens could give two clucks about that number!