What is the longest your broody has set?

[newchickmom09]

What is the longest that your broody has set for? I have a GLW that has been broody going on three weeks now. It has been a mess trying to get eggs for her, a lot of ups and downs trying to get eggs and at the end of it all the final eggs won't even be here until this next week.

So my question is if I ever get these eggs and put them under her will she be ok for setting for almost 5-6 weeks. That just sounds like such a long time. I don't want her to get sick or anything just because I couldn't get the egg situation worked out sooner. She is VERY serious about this brooy thing too. She never wants to get off of the eggs that she stills from the other hens. I have to roll her out of the nesting boxes to get her to go and eat/drink. What are the odds she will still want to sit? I know you can never really know these things but I figured hearing others experiences could give me an idea.

The things I have learned out of this is make sure you have a plan before you have a hen go broody on you.

Or should I try to break her of being broody and make a make shift incubator for the eggs I should be getting.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

She'll probably get tired of the nest & abandon the eggs. I've had hens broody for about 5 weeks, but no longer than that.

 

[dirtdoctor]

I had a batch of Auracauna hens that seemed to never get off the nest, then one day we smelt something really nasty, DEAD HEN on a pile of eggs, then about 5 months later we found another dead hen on a pile of eggs ( she had been there for months). A total of 4 hens out of that hatch that sat til they died. We even put water next to them so they could hydrate and eat if needed. But they sat til they died. Needless to say we got rid of that bloodline.

So to answer your question,,, about 5 months., then we tossed her.

The other litter mates we decided to break their broodiness. so they didn't go the route of their sisters.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Quote:
WOW!!! that is a DETERMINED bloodline!

 

[monita]

My American Game hens will sit as long as there are eggs to sit on....I have a hen that just hatched out 9 chicks and turned around and hatched another 4 from another nest. she is now taking care of all the chicks because I will not let her near a nest. if she could get to a nest she would be sitting though. Another hen is working on her 2nd clutch of eggs and i will do the same to her when these hatch next week. She will be forbidden to get near a nest...lol. I refuse to let them kill themselves hatching eggs. Once they sit they refuse to move and can be very aggressive if I take them away from the nest so i just put food and water within reach of the nest to keep them from starving or dehydrating.

 

[newchickmom09]

That is some mixed reviews and scary stories.

I am making sure to pop her off of the nest to go and eat everyday.

 

[possumblossum]

It's pretty easy to break a hen from a broody mood.

1) Place her in a wire cage with no bedding
2) Put the cage on a couple of blocks so some air can flow underneath it
3) Place it in an area so that she gets a lot of sunlight for a couple of days...if you can put her inside and leave a light overnight, that's even better.
4) Within a day or two, she'll be out of the mood and back to normal

This doesn't break her broodiness forever, so she'll still be an effective brooder later on, but it will get her out of the mood this time around.

 

[newchickmom09]

Quote:
I am wanting her to hatch these eggs I just don't want her getting to weak.

 

[MareeZoCool]

I have a BA hen. She set for 3 weeks. She did get up & get outside for some necessary bowel relif! PLUS, she is a clean little hen, just had to grab her dust bath every day. Even after her 3 chicks hatched, she'd take 2 20- minute breaks, & do her dust bath after her much-needed stroll around my yard. I pestered the girl too much, insisting she drank water & ate right out of my hands, three times every day.I AM a chicken nut!

 

[teach1rusl]

I let my GLW sit for 22 days. Even with me removing her from the nest 2x day to force her to eat/drink/poop and handfeeding her treats just about every day, she lost a TON of weight. I would not let one sit for much longer than that. I hate to think what she would look like if I'd let her sit for another 2 weeks...