[LittleRedHen]

   Our Molly has been broody now for a little over 6 weeks.  How long can this go on?  Surely she must be coming to the end of this obsession!

[Caralou]

They can keep going, and going, and going - until you cave in with the eggies 

[grumpydad]

i hope so, we have had a buff rock bantam, who has been broody for 5 weeks now, and a wyandotte for 3, the other 4 have all stopped laying, hope its the weather, but this is just silly.....

martyn

[purplebat]

one of mine's been broody for ages; the only worry is (apart from no eggs) is that if they are broody for too long they really lose condition because they don't eat or drink properly

[LittleRedHen]

Well, that's just it, isn't it?  She's skin and bones, won't eat hardly at all, and her come is a pale salmon colour.  I Frontlined her, so I know she's safe from little beasties.  I guess there's nothing for it but to sling some fertile eggs under her.  I've been slinging her off the nest as soon as I get home from work.  One the weekends we sling her out after everyone else has laid.  Hubby's not pleased at all. 

[purplebat]

Have you tried the separation technique? It worked for me before, I just put grumpy as I called her in a separate small run (it was actually an old rabbit run, and didn't give her any box or straw, in fact nothing that could possibly be used as nesting material, and kept her there for about 3 days, and it broke the routine, and she straight away started laying, it's about to be tried again with Grumpy the second 
the trouble is that if you give in and put eggs under her now, that will be another 3 weeks for her to lose even more condition

[LittleRedHen]

Hhmmm, never thought of that.  I don't have anywhere to put her other than with the others right now.  She's in such a routine right now.  I don't think I'll be able to break her in the amount of time that I will be off work now.  I just am going to have to give in and let her hatch out, I guess.  I'm not keen on having a hen with chicks, but my sil is dying to have chickens again and I think that this might just be an outlet.  Molly might find sitting on eggs isn't everything she thinks it will be.  When the other hens lay eggs in the other box, she just ignores them.