She will hopefully give up on the eggs within 3-4 weeks. Some birds sit the duration of the incubation period and others get bored after the first week.
On occasion, a solitary bird may lay a clutch of eggs and then sit on them as if they were fertile. This is why many people recommend leaving the eggs in the cage with the bird.
A broody hen may sit on unfertilized eggs for six or seven weeks before she gives up. Between the minimal diet and the increased body temperature, that's not good for her health. A broody won't lay eggs. She'll just sit on the eggs that are already in her nest (or the eggs that the other hens lay)
Clearly, if there is no rooster involved, then the eggs won't be fertile, and she can sit on top of the eggs for the rest of her life, but they still won't hatch! There is no exact science to exactly what makes a hen go broody – it's a combination of its hormones, instinct, and maturity.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology suggests you follow the one month rule: “The eggs of most birds will remain viable for up to two weeks after being laid even before they are incubated, so as a general rule, you should wait at least one month after the expected hatch date before concluding that a nest is abandoned.
Eggs must be turned at least five times every 24 hours. Turning more frequently is better and once per hour is best. Keep accurate records to ensure the eggs are turned three to five times each 24-hour period. Failure to turn eggs appropriately results in embryo death.
If there are still unhatched eggs at day 21, don't despair. It is possible that timing or temperature went slightly awry, so give the eggs until Day 23. Candle any unhatched eggs to see if they are still alive before discarding them. Keep in mind that when hatching eggs, you will likely end up with roosters.
Unless the hen has been exposed to a male bird before the egg or eggs were laid, the egg will not be fertile. In this case, most bird owners remove the egg from the cage and throw it away. Most of the time, the hens go back to their normal routines.
They may leave the nest for too long or let the eggs get too cool. They may totally abandon the nest and leave it after a few weeks. Some breeds make better mothers than other. Silkies and cochins are the most broody breeds.
Chronic egg laying is a maladaptive, behavioural disorder commonly seen in pet birds which repeatedly lay clutches of infertile eggs in the absence of a mate. It is particularly common in cockatiels, budgerigars, lovebirds, macaws and amazon parrots.
How The Chicken Incubates Eggs Naturally. In nature, the female bird selects the nest site and lays a clutch of eggs (usually 8 to 13 eggs), one egg per day. Once she has a clutch of eggs, she begins sitting on the eggs full time, leaving only for food and water.
Chickens cannot tell the difference between fertilized and unfertilized eggs.
Did you know you can determine if an egg is fertile or not by looking at the germ spot? The germ spot is the white spot on the yolk. The non-fertile germ spot contains only the female's cells and looks like a solid white spot. In a fertile egg the germ spot contains both the female and male cells.
Removing the eggs is the best policy. Wait until she is off the nest, and if she has vey recently laid them, say within the last 48 hours, you might want to replace them with plastic beads of the same size, or tiny wooden eggs if you can find some for sale at your local bird/pet store.
Some birds sit for hours or even days at a stretch, others rarely cover their eggs uninterruptedly for as long as half an hour in the daytime.
Infertile eggs will have a blastodisc that will have an irregular shape and its white colour is very faint and foggy. All eggs will have a white spot or blastodisc whether or not it is fertile.
Sitting hens should be moved to a special nesting pen as soon as possible. Although some chicken keepers will leave broody hens in the chicken coop, it isn't a good idea because: Chickens will fight over the nesting box, leading to broken eggs or forcing the brooding hen off the nest and letting the eggs get cold.
A hen can manage to cover and keep warm approximately 12 eggs proportionate to her size, meaning: if she is a bantam, it is reasonable to expect that she can care for 12 bantam sized eggs, fewer if the eggs are from a larger hen.
Allowing a broody hen to be broody when she doesn't have eggs or chicks is not healthy for her. A broody hen will eat less and drink less, causing her to lose weight and become dehydrated.
The good news is that most experts believe it is usually not painful for a chicken to lay eggs. Others believe it may be a little uncomfortable, without being anywhere close to the pain other animals (including humans) experience during childbirth.
It's likely that the chick will just hatch a little later. I have had chicks hatch as late as day 26, so don't despair. And do not be tempted to "help" the chick out of the egg. Nature will take its course, and trying to remove the shell before the chick is ready is more likely to kill it.
The longest incubation was recorded in the case of an egg of the mallee fowl (Leipoa ocellata), Australia, which took 90 days to hatch, compared with its normal 62 days.
Shine a bright flashlight through the egg in a dark room, and look closely at the inside. If the egg is alive you will see veins running through it. The process of removing dead or rotten eggs during incubation that uses this method is candling.