how long can hen come off eggs

[macleods14]

my hen has been broody for a few days, so we have given her some eggs to sit on. she comes off which is fine but how long should she be off for.

should we shut her in for a few days to settle on new nest as we moved her from her normal house

 

[Jennings Gamefowl]

my game hen only has 6 days to go

... she comes off the nest for about 10 mins at the most...

 

[MoodyChicken]

Around 10-15 minutes at a time. Depends on the temp outside too. Most hens know though. They won't leave their babies for long if it's too cold.

 

[Kev]

It is also fine if they happen to be off for a hour.

Naturally incubated eggs are VERY tough(tougher than artificially incubated eggs also) and will 'survive almost anything' if conditions are otherwise good such as not too many eggs, other hens adding eggs to nest etc.

 

[macleods14]

is it best to keep, her shut up for a few days to settle on new nest as we have moved her away from others and from her normal house.

 

[Kev]

Yes. Or she'll try to go back to the location and either sit there again or on a nest with eggs nearby. If she returns to nest in the new location, that's good.. but keep her shut in- of course make sure theres feed water and a place she can hop down to for a little bit of exercise.

Even if she is good about going back to the new nest, if you do let the door open.. you should check to see if she has returned to the right nest each time. Sometimes they will go back to the right one.. other times they will try to go back to the original. If the new nest is in a setup like a small pen or coop, just leave her in for the whole incubation period.

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

Quote:

Does this really happen? Other girls will push their eggs to the broody hen? I'd love to see that! "Here, I don't want it, IT'S YOUR'S NOW SUCKER!" Lol.

 

[chickenfanatic]

i have seen several hens add eggs. when the broodys get off to eat one or two will jump in a dlay and eggs then everyday u have more eggs last year after one of my hens started pipping i candled and there were about 8 eggs under her in various stages of growth so i put them in the bator and they all hatched.

 

[FarmerDenise]

That's why I finally thought to mark the batch of eggs I originally put under my broody hen. I was so glad I did, because twice while she was off taking her bath, another hen got in and layed an egg. Thanks to my mark, I was able to tell which was the new egg.
My hen can leave close to an hour about once a day. Though the last couple of days she hasn't stayed off the nest for long.

 

[aberfitch]

A good hen will reload then hightail it back to the nest. I have 2 awsome hens