How long will she keep this up??

[#1California Chick]

My two year old BO went broody for the first time in late April or early May. She is STILL at it. Early on I gave her two plastic easter eggs to sit on, thinking that she would give up when they did not hatch. I remove any eggs that she lays (1 every two or three days). She gets off the nest about mid-day for food, water and to poop.

I am concerned because her comb has turned from bright red to almost white. Last week we had very high heat here and STILL she sat on the nest in the warmest part of the coop.

Shouldn't she have given up by now??? Do I need to worry?

Cindy

 

[Animalian]

I stopped mine being broody by removing all the eggs. Checking for them morning and night.

I also took her out of the coop in the morning out with the other hens, if she was back in whenever I checked on them, I'd pull her out again and drop her off wherever the flock had got to by then.

If anything doing this should make her eat/drink more as my broody hens would always 'grab something' on the way back to the nest.

 

[#1California Chick]

Do you think that I am making it worse by giving her the plastic eggs?

thanks!
Cindy

 

[Animalian]

not particularly worse. Normally she would leave after they hadn't hatched after a certain period of time. But I don't think she's getting the point for some reason so I try keep all eggs away from her and keep pulling her out of the nest

 

[zzzzac]

I had 2 broody hens and the first one stopped when I got her eggs to hatch (she sat on them for a week), and then the other took them over. however they didn't hatch so i threw them out and every time I saw her back in there setting again I would carry her out and plop her into a bucket of water. She stopped after being plopped twice.

 

[#1California Chick]

WHOA!! That is an interesting ploy!!

I will take her fake eggs away from her tomorrow!! Then I will throw her out in the run.

I DO feel a little sorry for her. She was always at the bottom of the pecking order. But now when she does come out to eat, they seem to pick on her even MORE!!

Thanks for your suggestions!! I was worried that she was getting too frail!

Cindy