How do I Move a Broody Hen w/Eggs?

[dragonchild]

One of my Cuckoo Marans ladies has decided she wants to hatch some eggs! First, she was on a couple of wooden eggs, but I was given a dozen fertilized ones by a friend, and she is now setting them.

They are due to hatch April 26th, and I am building a smaller broodpen w/a ground nestbox, rather than leaving her to defend her babies in the regular pen. The nesting boxes are about a foot off the coop floor, so the babies couldn't go back in, once she gets them out--plus they'd have a bit of a fall to get out.

How do I go about moving mama & eggs before they hatch into the new pen/nesting box with a minimal amount of stress, and how likely is she to abandon her eggs if I do?

Also, does anyone else have Cuckoo Marans, and are they very broody? I've had other breeds and not had a 6-month-old hen decide to go broody in any of them!

 

[scratch'n'peck]

When I moved a broody I made a nest in a box and then removed the eggs out from under the hen. I placed the eggs in the box and then placed the hen on top of it. I carried the whole box to the new enclosure. I don't really know how likely it is she would abandon them. you could wait a little longer to move her perhaps.

 

[Beekissed]

It doesn't really matter how you move her, but it does matter when...if done at night, she will have a whole night of sitting in one spot to get used to the new situation. I've moved them in the day and it seems to upset them to have been moved from the flock and they sometimes abandoned the clutch out of worry.

I like to up end a cardboard box over the new nest with a hole cut out for an entrance, move her after dark and keep her covered and quiet. Moving under cover of darkness seems to be the key..haven't had a hen leave the eggs since doing so.

 

[dragonchild]

Thanks for the good advice, y'all. I've been worrying myself over this! I don't have roosters, so the surprise of Brave Lady going broody, and my friend having hatching eggs at the right time, was great! I'm really looking forward to baby chicks again! (And ones I raised here, not bought from a hatchery!)

 

[Habibs Hens]

i would wait till they hatch then lead her and her chicks in to the new pen

 

[mstricer]

i would wait till they hatch then lead her and her chicks in to the new pen

That won't work she will.just lead them back. I usually just leave mine in the coop. When they hatch I move mom and babies to a dog kennel in the coop, at night that way she has a quiet place to take care of them peacefully. She will take them back to the nesting.box once the kennel is removed, but by that time they can fly up to her. You will love watching her take care of them. I have been waiting all spring for my spitz.to go broody, she is clicking and puffing up like she wants to, but I guess there's to much free ranging to do.
Michele

 

[LadyofChickRose]

My first year with a flock and two hens have gone broody, the first one I moved in the day and she left her eggs, I'm going to try this with the second one, though I'll have to move her without the box because she's gone broody under some pipes, Wish Me Luck.

Thanks, BeeKissed

 

[Murrindindi]

Hi just a word of caution i recently tried moving my clucky hen after she had been on the nest for 2 weeks as i didn't want her to hatch the chicks in the nesting box, and wanted to keep them away from the other chooks and rooster. We did it at night but she still abandoned them. It was pretty upsetting. I think it's best if you move them earlier in the incubation period, like within the first few days of them sitting, leaving them too long and they may not take again. Well this has been my experience. She was also a first-timer so maybe she just got confused and didn't know what to do. Good luck!

 

[zuul]

My hen turned broody this spring. She and her fellow cluckers took over the garden closet this winter. Bitter cold and raccoon attacks. She is nested 7'6" in the air with only a long drop to their death for the chicks. She has been sitting for about 2 weeks. Not sure how many she is sitting on. 1 rooster 5 hens.

I really want to move her before the hatch but fear total loss. Any thoughts.

 

[athomemama]

I have 2 hens who went broody. One in our coup that I cover at night so the others leave her alone. The other one is in a wheel barrel. I have a dog kennel id like to move her to .... going to try tomorrow night which is day 2. I tried yesterday in the morning and she didn't take. Just got her back on today to try again.