How long does broodiness last with no eggs?

[FC16]

My Silkie went broody around 20th June (so been broody around 16 days)
I didn’t give her eggs as she’s very young and was told she wouldn’t be able to do it properly, also she refuses to sit anywhere other than the favourite nest box so she’s constantly being turfed out as she’s low in the pecking order.

I remove her whenever I’m out there, and remove any eggs she’s stolen from other hens. I’ve also tried the water bath method but that didn’t work. I tried to see if anyone nearby had a dog crate but no one did and I didn’t really want to order one just for this. I don’t mind her staying sitting there too much but for her own health it would be good for her to snap out of it soon.

Are there any other methods I could try?
How long will she stay broody given 90% of the time she’s not sitting on anything?
Also, next time she goes broody, will she have a better chance at being good at it given she’s been broody once before or is that not how it works?

Thanks in advance

 

[azygous]

No one has the answers you're looking for since broody behavior is so fickle and no two broodies are exactly alike.

I happen to have a Blur-Plymouth Rock hen who has been in the first stage of broodiness for at least three months. What the manifestation of it includes are extreme grumpiness and twice as long in the nest to lay an egg. But she never goes all the way broody to stick to a nest. I haven't even bothered to try to break her because it's obvious she isn't serious, although the hormones sure seem real.

The only true broody breaking method involves an open mesh bottom cage placed in a busy, noisy spot in the run and the hen placed inside day and night with food and water until the broody hormones dissipate.

 

[FC16]

No one has the answers you're looking for since broody behavior is so fickle and no two broodies are exactly alike.

I happen to have a Blur-Plymouth Rock hen who has been in the first stage of broodiness for at least three months. What the manifestation of it includes are extreme grumpiness and twice as long in the nest to lay an egg. But she never goes all the way broody to stick to a nest. I haven't even bothered to try to break her because it's obvious she isn't serious, although the hormones sure seem real.

The only true broody breaking method involves an open mesh bottom cage placed in a busy, noisy spot in the run and the hen placed inside day and night with food and water until the broody hormones dissipate.

3 months wow thanks for your advice, will leave her for another week or so then might have to look into a cage.

 

[NNYchick]

Every broody is different. I have a silkie now that no matter what I do she will not break. She has been at it since April. I gave up trying to break her, I just keep taking the eggs everyday that her supporters are laying for her. I don’t want her to hatch because she is a mean and overly protective with chicks and she raises the chicks to be skittish and flighty.
I have another that will break after 3 weeks but then is back at it in a week or two.
Their never ending broodiness is why I won’t have anymore silkies.

 

[SueT]

I’ve read that broody hens could stay dangerously long, since they don’t eat or drink much. In other words, they may never give up. They also tie up the nest, stop laying, and so to me, it’s important to break a hen asap. I use a large bird cage, I have one I found at a thrift store, and another on Amazon.... I give them a little log to perch on. It’s in our basement, which is much cooler than the outdoors.
If I get her in there right away, I can often break her in 2 days + 2 nights. Often it takes 3, some take more.
Out of my 10 hens, I’ve had 13 broody periods this year, as 3 of them have gone broody once a month since April. Currently, no one has been broody for about 3 weeks. I am maxed out on chickens, so no one gets to hatch babies this year.

 

[aart]

I tried to see if anyone nearby had a dog crate but no one did and I didn’t really want to order one just for this.

Buy a crate, one that folds for storage.
One with 2 doors can be very handy.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/foldable-wire-dog-crates-a-good-tool-for-every-chickeneer.72619/

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Yes, you should get the crate anyway, or some other type of large cage like it. They have so many uses with chickens beyond just broody busting that I guarantee you'll be happy you have one around when you need it, even if it gathers dust most of the time otherwise!

As others have posted, no one can say how long your bird will remain broody under these circumstances as each broody is different. I currently have three Cochin bantam hens (two the daughters of the third) who have been trying to sit for about a month now and if history is any indicator will likely continue to try for a couple more months, despite that I throw them out of the coop to a fenced off area outside every day, far from the nest boxes or anywhere private that would be enticing to sit and with no way of getting back to the nests to sit until roost time. Other broodies I've had this summer have broken easily within days of being out in that pen, so it definitely varies from bird to bird. It's best to try and break them, though, rather than let them sit and waste away while hoping they snap out of it on their own. Broodies can get dangerously thin while waiting on their eggs to hatch, and it does neither them nor you any good to allow that to happen if chicks are not in the cards for the near future.

As far as her skills at broodying in the future, that's also impossible to say until she has a go at it. Some very dedicated sitters are horrible mothers, and some who don't sit well at all are excellent mothers. Most meet somewhere in the middle, of course, sitting and mothering just fine, but no one can say where on the spectrum your bird may land. As you probably can tell, there are no guarantees with chickens. At all. Who knows what's going on in their little bird brains at any given moment! We as their keepers just have to have plenty of backup plans in case something goes wrong and hope for the best.

 

[Jaime918]

My silkie bantam mix decided to try and go broody 3 weeks into laying, at the time she was the only one laying so I was able to block her favorite box for about 3 days and she finally quit. She wasn't too determined yet. Quit talking back about 3 days after that.

But I would also invest in a cage, because that was my next resort if she didn't make it easy for me because it was just too hot at the time to stay on the nest.

If you use Amazon sometimes you can find awesome deals in warehouse. We got a 48" for $30 because of damaged packaging a couple months ago.

 

[azygous]

I got mine for $10 at a yard sale. It's just like the nice, roomy cage pictured above by @SueT . I may be needing it as my not even one-year old Buttercup has suddenly gone broody, something I never expected.

 

[FC16]

After 23 days she’s now stopped she still makes the clucking sound as she walks, but seems to have zero interest in sitting on eggs