Broody hen- going on 5.5 weeks

Sort by date Sort by reaction score
Chold05

Chold05

Songster
May 24, 2020
107
208
136
Pittsburgh, PA
My Coop
My Coop
Hey friends!
I have a 2.5 year old Maran. She went broody for the first time last year, and I tried to intervene. But this year, I havent done anything except take her out once a day to make sure she eats. She has been broody for 5.5 weeks and doesnt appear to be giving up anytime soon. It started on June 5th!

From what I've read, they're only supposed to be broody for 21 days?
Is it normal for them to be broody for this long?
 
Last edited:
cherrynberry

cherrynberry

🍒❤️🐓🐐🐕🐖
Aug 2, 2020
16,158
56,204
1,076
California
Chold05 said:
From what I've read, they're only supposed to be broody for 21 days?
Click to expand...
Wrong, you need to break her herself. You can probably do a site search to view threads talking about breaking broody hens. Personally I recommend keeping her in a dog crate for a few days, that usually does the trick in a matter of days. Broody hens can and will sit until they die, if allowed. I assume you got 21 days since the incubation period for chicken eggs is 21 days. It is true that if you let a hen hatch eggs they will usually self break themselves once the chicks hatch, granted they need to leave the nest to take care of the chicks. However, because she has already been brooding for 5.5 weeks, I would break her ASAP.
 
Chold05

Chold05

Songster
May 24, 2020
107
208
136
Pittsburgh, PA
My Coop
My Coop
cherrynberry said:
Wrong, you need to break her herself. You can probably do a site search to view threads talking about breaking broody hens. Personally I recommend keeping her in a dog crate for a few days, that usually does the trick in a matter of days. Broody hens can and will sit until they die, if allowed. I assume you got 21 days since the incubation period for chicken eggs is 21 days. It is true that if you let a hen hatch eggs they will usually self break themselves once the chicks hatch, granted they need to leave the nest to take care of the chicks. However, because she has already been brooding for 5.5 weeks, I would break her ASAP.
Click to expand...
Oh shucks! I wish I would have started to break her sooner! I put her in the dog crate today so hopefully that resolves the issue! Thank you for the tip!
 
TillyPeeps

TillyPeeps

Crowing
6 Years
Oct 13, 2015
1,237
769
250
Central PA
Chold05 said:
Oh shucks! I wish I would have started to break her sooner! I put her in the dog crate today so hopefully that resolves the issue! Thank you for the tip!
Click to expand...
I had a silkie mix that went broody for 8 weeks! I tried to take her to roost every night, and it didn't work. I finally used the dog cage method, it broke her broodiness in 3 days. She actually went broody every month, and I always broke her with the broody cage in 4 days.
 

Similar threads

Rehoboth
    • Like
is this normal behavior for a broody hen?
Replies
4
Views
332
Rehoboth
Rehoboth
J
Question on how long to let a hen be broody
Replies
5
Views
336
nuthatched
nuthatched
DonyaQuick
Preparing for hatching with a broody hen
2
Replies
17
Views
593
DonyaQuick
DonyaQuick
P
Broody Hen taking on more hatched chicks?
Replies
3
Views
159
Vickischics
Vickischics
P
    • Like
Preparing for Broody Hen to Hatch-questions
Replies
3
Views
215
preppingmom
P

New posts New threads Active threads

Top Bottom