Just how long will a broody sit for?

[TheFatBlueCat]

Hi wonderful team. There are two hens from the neighbors currently sitting on (unfertilized and I'm sure now rotten) eggs on my property. They have been there for at least 2 months. Just how long will a hen sit for? I am starting to feel very sorry for them, but I really don't want to deal with them, I've got enough with my own flock and 3 hens with chicks right now! I figured they would eventually just stop but so far, they have not. I never let my girls sit without either fertilized eggs or breaking them, the longest I've ever let one sit is 4 weeks.

The neighbors have a few hens that spend most of their day in my yard, which I don't mind, they don't cause any problems and I feel sorry for them, my yard is a chicken paradise! I'm just concerned these two hens will end up just up and dying on me. I CAN go over and ask them to get their hens (we are friendly enough), but they have so far been unable to keep them on their side so I don't know that's solving the problem.

Can I wait it out or do I have to break these hens? If they were hens I wanted I would just take them and add them to my own flock and look after them properly, but I really don't want them.

 

[SilverBirds]

What breed are they? Some breeds like my cochins will sit for months. When a hen sits, she stops eating and drinking and when sitting that long they can become very malnourished and can cause them to die.

 

[BDutch]

I would tell the neighbour about these hens. Or do they already know?

If they know that these hens are brooding such a long time and don’t care much, then I would ask them to take the two hens home to their property. And destroy the nests before they come back. Put some hwc/mesh on the spot for a while to prevent them building a new nest in the same pot.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

I would tell the neighbour about these hens. Or do they already know?

If they know that these hens are brooding such a long time and don’t care much, then I would ask them to take the two hens home to their property. And destroy the nests before they come back. Put some hwc/mesh on the spot for a while to prevent them building a new nest in the same pot.

What breed are they? Some breeds like my cochins will sit for months. When a hen sits, she stops eating and drinking and when sitting that long they can become very malnourished and can cause them to die.

They're some kind of bantam backyard specials, with weird round buggy eyes haha. I don't know too much about bantam breeds as I'm a standard size fan myself. I will try removing them and throwing away the eggs, and blocking their access back to the sites. I've seen them up eating and drinking, when one gets up and I see her I feed her. I'll let the neighbors know, but I get pretty frustrated with them, they know their chickens spend a lot of time at my place, they just don't seem to care if they go missing. It's all good, and I probably take excessive care of my own, but I would damn sure know if one of my hens was missing at the end of the day!

There's one hen from them that hasn't been to my place in about the same amount of time, she must be brooding excessively or dead, it's a shame I miss her she was quite the character.

 

[SilverBirds]

Your neighbors may think they are dead or they just care nothing for their birds. Since they've done nothing about it, I'd break the broodies myself for their own well being.

 

[BDutch]

You could give the neighbours a tip to keep them home (fenced) for a few weeks and why. They probably need to do do so every breeding season.

Second: I wouldn't feed them. That’s ‘asking’ the bantams to come to you’re property. They might not know anymore where they belong.

Just curious: do you have a picture of these bantams?

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

You could give the neighbours a tip to keep them home (fenced) for a few weeks and why. They probably need to do do so every breeding season.

Second: I wouldn't feed them. That’s ‘asking’ the bantams to come to you’re property. They might not know anymore where they belong.

Just curious: do you have a picture of these bantams?

Neighbors have had chickens for years, they're just pretty casual about it. They take mostly decent care of them, they have a decent size run and a big coop, only about 5 of the hens come over to my place (they have a lot, like 30 chickens). The hens go back home to roost. I actually thought they might come join my flock but my rooster isn't interested in them. Apparently he has high standards.

They're crossed a lot of times, with standards and bantam breeds I'd guess as they're small but not super small, and all of them slightly different sizes. Some silkie in a few of them.

These are the photos I have, white one is the broody and the brown one I haven't seen in awhile, she's the one who was hilarious and I do miss her mischief. Brown one is tiny, white one on the larger side for a bantam but not reaching small standard size.

 

[BDutch]

Great description.
The little brown one has a silly comb.

Hope you can sort it out with the neighbours. They seem nice and tolerant people.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I had a Brahma go broody, and it took weeks to break her. She lost so much weight. Her beak and toenails would have been horribly overgrown if I didn't trim them. She plucked her underside bald and was developing a breast blister. It was BAD. I ended up having to bring her inside for a week before she finally broke. No question in my mind she would have died or gotten horribly sick.

I'd talk to your neighbors. If they seem noncommittal, I'd offer to break the hens for them.

They are silly looking - like cartoons!

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Well I closed up the nests and so far seemed to have worked. I suspect they were starting to wear down on the whole sitting thing anyway, I had been seeing them up more than usual. Hopefully resolved now and back to normal.

Yes the neighbors are perfectly nice people, and given I have a rooster, and sometimes have crowing cockerels before they move on to being dinner, I don't like to complain!