Will a broody hen stop being broody if the eggs don't hatch?

[Cheesay]

I have a broody hen that has been laying on a clutch of eggs for about 3 weeks now. The eggs should be fertile and will hatch as another hen hatched some earlier. The problem is this hen is just a bit dim. When she returns from eating to continue sitting, she can never remember which box she was laying in, even if there's only eggs in one box! She will sit in the empty one. I'm worried she may have screwed up the incubation process because of this and maybe the eggs won't hatch. Just wondering if she'll stop being broody if this is the case and how long that might take.

 

[Kiki]

No, not necessarily.
You could candle the eggs to see if they are still alive and you could place her in a wire cage with no bedding, raised off the ground for a few days to try to break her.

 

[aart]

Might want to put her and her nest of eggs in a separated area, but still in the coop, with enough room to get up and stretch but no going back on the wrong nest. If it's been warm enough, the eggs might just take longer to hatch rather than not hatch at all.

If eggs are dead, she may not stop being broody.
You could give her day old chicks, or break her.

 

[chickens really]

Candle the eggs and if still good put her in a separate brooder with food and water....

 

[lazy gardener]

Agreed x 4.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

IME going back to the wrong nest is common. I just go out a few times a day (before leaving for work, when I get home from work, and then before bed) and make sure she's on the right nest. At those points you also collect any other eggs so there is nothing for her to accidentally go back to. She will continue to sit, whether eggs are infertile, rotten, fake, etc. Definitely candle the eggs, and if they are no good then toss them. If they are bad and you don't want her to try a new batch, go ahead and "break" her broodiness.