I have a mama hen that has been laying and hiding eggs to sit on once she has enough I... - Page 2

Well right now isn't really the best time for chicks anyway since it is still in the 20s at night..so I'm not too broken up about it...and as I said I am just going to put a dummy egg in a dog crate up there and maybe she will find it and have a sitting spell, at which point I will start giving her eggs to sit on...I know she'll go broody just because that is apparently all she does...She is some gamefowl barnyard mix and she lives for chicks...I also have 4 of ehr female offspring that should start laying in just a few months, and there is a really good chance that they too will have frequent broody spells, if not then that is alright too since I am ordering a few cochins in hopes that they will handle any brooding I need done..but so far I think my flock will have more than it's fair share of broody hens...I just need to get some things in place so we are ready to deal with it. I was thinking I could just leave them altogether, but everyone says that is a bad idea, and gives more than a few valid reasons that have convinced me that I will separate out any broody I get. I want everything to go well. So I'll place the fake eggs tomorrow, and see if I can't get her to start sitting again...the issue is that she is just so very very flighty...more so than her chicks are. They have come to know me as the bringer of food...she still acts like I am just warming up the pot just for her..

This mama had these last babies in October and they never were in a brood box, or even inside of a coop until we got them at 8 weeks...so I'm not too worried about her not being able to keep them warm. I just don't know if starting a hatch right now is the best idea...but if she's willing why not? That is my take on things...but it's hard to get a broody ready if she freaks out everytime that you get near her. Perhaps if I put her in the dog crate with the fake egg and then wait til she is firmly sitting and then add some eggs that would work out better. I know if she has eggs and is undisturbed that she will sit on them...just getting it started is going to disturb her. I don't want her to just be missing for 3 weeks in the bitter cold. Not to mention as soon as something scares her off then there go all the eggs...so I need to get her to go broody in an approved location. 

the crate stays in the coop for those times when you just have to move one away from the others
I'm going to save up some eggs and when I have 6 I will put a fake egg in the crate with her...in a few days I bet I can give her the eggs...

Well I have a plan now...tonight I am going to go up and put mama hen and the silkie roo into the dog crate together and leave them together for 3 days..then when I have 6 of mamas eggs I will put her in the dog crate with the fake egg and when she starts sitting on the fake egg well I will give her the collected eggs, that will hopefully be fuzz chickens. I don't think our big rooster is mating her...Just because he is so much larger than her it seems he would hurt her if he did, then again she is only slightly smaller than our other laying hen that I know he is mating. Anyway, I'm going to see if I can't get some fuzz chickens. 

Alright..the mama and Silkie are shacked up in their new dog crate/love nest...So in a couple days I'll let the silkie out and put a fake egg in there for mama...She keeps trying to sneak back downstairs...Surely she'll be happy to sit on eggs in the undisturbed crate...I sure hope so. 

Well my plan didn't work at all...mama and Silkie were just ticked off this morning...so I just let them out...but mama will have to lay her eggs in the coop since the chickens won't be able to go out for a few days...everything is covered in a sheet of ice...it was hard even getting to the coop this morning...I did put a fake egg of the right size in one of the nest boxes, so maybe mama will get the idea and put more eggs there, instead of trying to find a way to sneak downstairs...she eyes the door to the stairs every time I open it...if worse comes to worse I'll open up the bottom and she can go back to her first nest if that is the only place she'll lay...at least if I see her there again I will know what she is up to. 

Well, the mama hen is now collecting eggs in the crate like i wanted her to...but if she doesn't start setting on them soon, I will take them...it's cold enough outside that I can leave them for a bit and see if she will sit, but not too long..whatever isn't going to be a baby chick is going to be an omelet..so...She has 2 eggs so far, perhaps tomorrow she will set on them. I hope so...would it be beneficial to close her in with the nest and eggs? Or should I just keep collecting the eggs. I mean her hatching eggs isn't super important...I mean I would enjoy it, but if she isn't feeling it then that is alright too.