How long will stay "broody" w/o eggs? Will they go "un-broody" on their own?

[Midwest Lizabeth]

Have a broody large fowl black Cochin. . .hatched June '11. . .she's been doing the broody thing for about two weeks. . .we collect eggs daily. . .and take her out and put her by the food/water 2-3 times a day. I searched "broody Cochin". . .
?-will she go un-broody on her own? (I did read about the wire cage to make her go un-broody and about giving her a special place to stay broody/hatch eggs.) We don't want to cause harm to her, but I'm hoping that they will go "out of broody on their own". Will they. . .go "un-broody" on their own? Or, are we going to have to set up a special area for her where will have to provide additional food/water? (We both work and don't want to make more chores. . . in the winter. . .I don't think we have any more amps to pull to plug in another heated waterer.)

Here's what I'm thinking:
1) hoping she'll get un-broody on her own. . .(may not be possible)
2) try the wire isolation bad broody cage (concerned about weather, still cold)
3) give her a few marked eggs to hatch (have elevated nest boxes & don't really need more chickens)

We've had chickens for a couple of years, but this is our first group of girls that are known to be broody. I wanted some broody's to hatch out eggs, but not this early in the year.

I'm worried that if it gets too cold that I'll harm the hen if she doesn't have a warm place to sleep with only wire/roost.

We haven't isolated roos, so we can't tell who fertilized what egg and we don't really need any unknown breed chickens.

Will 1) be possible?

Thank you for your thoughts and words of wisdom. This forum has so many knowledgeable people!

 

[mommissan]

I have 2 broody cochin mixes. One of them has done this to me twice now. The first one I used the cage method and it worked in under three days. She went right back to laying eggs in about 2 weeks. The other one I didn't have time to cage, so I just left her to her own devices. Both times, she sat for three weeks and then just got over it and went on with life. She took 2 weeks to start laying both times too. With the one I did not cage, I would just pick her up off the nest and drop her out in the run (in the snow). She would sit, scratch for a minute, eat a little and go right back to her box. I'd wait it out first, as long as she stays healthy.

 

[Midwest Lizabeth]

Mommissan: Thank you for sharing your experiences. We'll try to wait it out and keep a close eye on her. If she starts loosing weight, we'll build a cage. Thanks again. Liz

 

[mommissan]

I used an old rabbit cage and put a wire floor on the bottom. Now if only She will go broody when my hatching eggs arrive.

 

[Chili22]

My hens have gone broody every now and then. They're like that for a few weeks. But they will come out of it.
They'll get up to drink and eat by themselves too.
But yeah, she won't need anything special unless you want her to stop within the next couple of days. I'd say give it about another week.
If you think about it, 21 days to hatch the eggs, so 3 weeks of broodiness makes sense.

 

[chookhead]

she can die of she stays on the nest for too long some hens will die on the enst trying to warm thier eggs dunk her head and booty in cool water and she will forget about the nest and will moult and then go back to laying

 

[bayareapilot]

she can die of she stays on the nest for too long some hens will die on the enst trying to warm thier eggs dunk her head and booty in cool water and she will forget about the nest and will moult and then go back to laying

Checked this out with my vet... Not true that the hen will die, UNLESS she has some predisposing medical condition and certainly DON'T further stress the animal by getting her wet (possibly subjecting her to other medical issues). She is not going to die from going broody, as long as she is otherwise a healthy hen. Let the creature's system enjoy the rest granted it by the broodiness; the broodiness will resolve itself and before you know it she will be laying again.

 

[Messipaw]

bayareapilot--

I think my EE, Bella is going broody on me. I have a small flock of 6 girls. No roosters. I'm not sure why my EE-Bella decided to go broody.
What makes a hen want to go broody? We collect out eggs twice a day, so no eggs remain in the nest more then a few hours. What could have caused the onset of her broddiness? She is sleeping on the roosting bar at night but during the day she makes a home in the nest box. I remove her as much as possible. she does fluff up and growl at me but i am able to pick her up and remove her. When i take her out and put her in the run she sits in the spot i put her for a bit then gets up and joins the others for a bit then heads back to the coop. I do see her eating and drinking. I try to entice her when she is out and about with treats but she is head strong and heads back to the nest. I have not noticed and feather loss.
Any suggestions on what I should do and or approach my broody busting plan?
Thank you in advance.