If a hen sits on eggs that weren't fertilized, would she stay broody

[akd23237]

even if they never hatch? I'm interested in knowing if a hen would actually sit on the eggs forever because they don't hatch? Or do they know better after a certain amount of time, and come out of the broodiness? This is not my situation, I'm new at owning chickens, and just wondering.

 

[gamebirdsonly]

I have a hen turkey that won't give up. she has been sitting on a empty nest for 2 weeks and this is after she tried to hatch some chicken eggs.

 

[ChuckenGirl]

my one hen stopped after a while.

 

[akd23237]

Gamebirdsonly- Very interesting. I wonder if she'll still be like that after the 21 or so days are up, and she sees no chicks?

 

[akd23237]

Whitehallgamepullet, how long did it take your hen to stop?

 

[comcleveryou]

i have black astrolorps and araucana....one of my BA hens went broody 5 days before my second one did...well my first BA hens eggs went bad for some reason ...so i decided to see if she would wait another five days after her due date then id take some of the other BA hens eggs and do the ol switch a roo....it worked.... but they both decided to leave the nest with there chicks at the same time....so the chicks got mixed up and now there are two moms and one clutch of babys......

 

[HorseFeathers]

Hens can go broody with or without fertilized eggs. The length of time depends on how determined the hen is. If she goes really broody, she'll sit on the eggs long after they're supposed to hatch. This might starve/dehydrate the hen and cause death. If she's not so determined, she might giv up if they don't hatch, but overall I think that unless you have some fertilized eggs to slip under her, the best thing is to prevent/prohibit/end broodiness. You can Search "stop broody hen" or "stop broodiness" and you'll find tons of solutions to make a hen un-broody. Hope this helps!