Still sitting on eggs

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

I posted back on May 19th about a broody black Australorp. She is still sitting. And as we do not have a rooster there is no end in sight.

Do i need to worry about her continuing to sit there? I am worried about mites and her nutrition. I see her off her nest once a day but other than that she does not budge!

 

[PirateGirl]

Yes. You are right to be worried at this point. She is probably already losing weight. Here is an article with several different common methods people use to "break" a broody. Every bird is different so you may have to try more than one method before it works for you and she is back to normal. They can sure be stubborn.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-break-a-broody-hen.65588/

 

[rosemarythyme]

Did you attempt to break her at any point? Might be a little tricky now, since she's gone the distance, but if she doesn't break herself out of it you really will need to intervene.

If you're lucky she'll come out of it on her own. In the future I highly suggest breaking early if you have no plans to hatch/brood chicks.

 

[HuffleClaw]

Did you attempt to break her at any point? Might be a little tricky now, since she's gone the distance, but if she doesn't break herself out of it you really will need to intervene.

If you're lucky she'll come out of it on her own. In the future I highly suggest breaking early if you have no plans to hatch/brood chicks.

 

[Henriettamom919]

Did you attempt to break her at any point? Might be a little tricky now, since she's gone the distance, but if she doesn't break herself out of it you really will need to intervene.

If you're lucky she'll come out of it on her own. In the future I highly suggest breaking early if you have no plans to hatch/brood chicks.

Is slipping a couple day chicks under her even an option? I agree, a few more days maximum and you'll have to put her in a broody breaker. She's going to be at risk for nutrient imbalance, weight loss, overall poor health

Next time she (or any of your hens you're not planning to allow a hatch) just break them early - the process kind of sucks but it's so much easier than waiting and worrying like you're doing now!

Once she does come off/get broken I'd put her on some nutridrench to give her body a boost in recovery. Maybe offer a little scrambled eggs for a few days to help rebuild lost muscle mass.

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

I tried to move her a couple times and it only worked for small amounts of time. She would find her way back to the nest. The same 2 chickens would lay in the nest while she was out of it and neither one sits very quickly so i figured it was getting her an hour or more off the nest.

I have fed her some scrambled eggs in the nest box a few times.

I did move her over to my sick bay tonight. Food, water, roost bar but no nest. She was not happy about it but starate to calm down when i locked everybody up. Hopefully she is feeling better tomorrow. I just felt bad to interfere with what her instincts were telling her to do. This is my first flock and my girls are just now 1 year. Still learning a lot.

 

[RustyBucketFarmGirl]

Is slipping a couple day chicks under her even an option? I agree, a few more days maximum and you'll have to put her in a broody breaker. She's going to be at risk for nutrient imbalance, weight loss, overall poor health

Next time she (or any of your hens you're not planning to allow a hatch) just break them early - the process kind of sucks but it's so much easier than waiting and worrying like you're doing now!

Once she does come off/get broken I'd put her on some nutridrench to give her body a boost in recovery. Maybe offer a little scrambled eggs for a few days to help rebuild lost muscle mass.

I do have 7 chicks in the brooder but they are 2 and 3 weeks old. We just got them from a friend who couldn’t take care of them becaus eher husband hurt his leg.

Do you think they are too old or should i put some in with her and see how she does?

 

[Henriettamom919]

I do have 7 chicks in the brooder but they are 2 and 3 weeks old. We just got them from a friend who couldn’t take care of them becaus eher husband hurt his leg.

Do you think they are too old or should i put some in with her and see how she does?

No, sadly they're too old and she's very likely to hurt them.

To break her just lock her in a dog crate or wire cage with wire flooring and absolutely no bedding. Add food and water so she doesn't have to come out. Let her out at dusk and if she goes up too roost with her flock, you're good but if she tries to get back on the nest back in the broody jail she'll have to go! It usually takes about two or three days.

 

[PirateGirl]

Yes but her instinct is to hatch eggs, and since she doesn’t have eggs to hatch and chicks to nurture, it is probably best that you stop her. To gently break my broody in the past (which sometimes works better than others) if the weather was good I would take her out of her nest box and lock her out of the coop all day. She could not return to her nest even if she wanted and was forced to be with the rest of the flock doing normal chicken things