How long does a broody stay off the nest?

[BarredBuff]

How long does a broody stay off the nest to eat and drink?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Depends. Sometimes just a few minutes. Sometimes up to an hour. I think the weather influences it some. Cool and wet versus warm and dry.

 

[yotetrapper]

My broody duck will stay off of it no longer than 10 minutes. I think if one of my broodys stayed off for an hour I'd be freaking, lol.

 

[MiniBeesKnees]

Mine seem to stay off about a half hour.

 

[elmo]

Mine stayed off 15 to 20 minutes. One hen in particular would dustbathe most of that time, and then all of a sudden she'd squawk and go running like the dickens back to her nest. It was almost as if she was thinking "oh, no! I forgot my eggs!!"

Another one would head back to the nest, pause, then come back out a couple of times before finally climbing back in to the box. It was almost as though she was thinking "do I really have to go back? Darn."