how long can a broody hen stay off her eggs before they die

[davidce31]

I have a broody silkie bantam. She has been broody on and off for a while. She had been sitting on a couple of eggs (unfertilized) for app. 2 weeks. I purchased some fertile eggs and placed them under her. She was not too fussed with the transition and kept sitting on the eggs. After 2 days she seemed to be getting off them more regulary. Today I went to feed her and she was off the eggs, which felt cool. She was back on the eggs next time I checked on her. How long can the eggs be left for before they are effected.

 

[jenichick]

I was wondering this same thing. I have two hens rotating some eggs and I sometimes find the eggs alone, I was wondering if they have to set on them all day or just most of the day, etc. Maybe someone will respond to your thread.

 

[chickbea]

Well, I don't think I can be too helpful, as I only hatched naturally once. However, when my Dorothy was on her eggs, she only got off to eat, drink , and have a quick poo, then hopped right back on the nest. During the last week I don't think she ever got off - I finally moved her water closer to her so she could drink from there.
She was all on her own in the coop, however. I'm wondering if yours may be getting off the nest because they are getting disturbed by other hens - ?

 

[speckledhen]

So much depends on the temperature where they eggs are. My broody hatched in May, which is still cool here, and she would stay off the nest for up to 45 minutes at a time.

 

[Julie in Al]

I had a Orp get off a nest full of silkie eggs one time and stay off for 4 hours. I just knew I had lost the hatch and they were about 3 days to hatch. Everyone hatched. It is amazing to me how a hen hatches eggs.Rolls them out to the front of the breast so you know one side is cooling some of the time.

 

[racingpigeons98]

I have a chicken that has been sitting on her eggs for about a week and today I find her on another clutch of eggs. I put her back on, but will her eggs still hatch? The temperatures were in the 80's. Please reply.

 

[wsmoak]

As it is approximately a billion degrees outside, I don't worry too much when my broody goes wandering around for a while. She's been off of her eggs for up to an hour -- when I was going to buy extra fertile eggs, of course! She got back on them and all is well. -Wendy

 

[racingpigeons98]

only one hatched
hoping it's a rooster

 

[cherrycreekjo]

I realize how old this thread is that for anybody out there who rented the problem I had last night might find this good to know. My checks yesterday reached the "lockdown" time in there incubation period. Somehow it had gotten unplugged the night before and when I went to check on them last night all the eggs were cold. Best you can do is plug it in and heated up again and hope for the best. When I checked this morning most of them seem to be OK I only lost two that I know of, I can't do a lot of checking with the rest because I can't roam around a lot because they're due to hatch in two days. What I have learned is the farther along in incubation they are the better chance they have of surviving and incubator crash. I have 26 eggs total so far only to have died from this catastrophe.

 

[ninatt]

That’s reassuring. We had a power substation explode last night with a massive power outage. My eggs are now on day 19 in the incubator and they were stone cold when I found them about 2 hrs later. Luckily I had a broody hen who helped out.