Broody Buff on Eggs: HELP!

[Red Star]

I have 20 hens and a rooster and one of my buffs went broody and we have let her sit on them in the coop nesting box. Dd is VERY excited and now I realize I have no idea what I'm doing.

After lots of eggs being broken and other hens getting in and laying in the box, we are down to the wire with about 11 eggs and now I'm panicking because I've never done this before!!

I have a couple concerns:

Should I separate the broody with her eggs from the others so that the others don't kill the peeps or will buff take care of them enough?

My nesting boxes are not made well for peeps, they're a good 8-10 inches off the ground and there is a fold down step that the hens use to get in them. I don't see how the peeps will be able to get in and out . . . should I try to set up something new NOW, while they are still eggs or wait till the peeps hatch??

If I set up something new inside the coop but in a different location, moving the hen and her eggs into a box/bin, will she take care of them or is this too much change at once??

Thanks for any help you can give!!

 

[hinkjc]

Whenever you decide is up to you, but do it in the dark so she is less likely to abandon the eggs and will sit tight. Good luck.

Jody

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I always keep a large dog crate in the coop to be able to take care of a broody hen when I have one and use a large plastic bin or pan for her eggs and her to set in....Move the eggs and the hen at night she will be calmer and likely to go back to setting on the eggs....keep a dish of feed and water also in the crate...make sure whatever you use to contain her in is large enough for her to get up eat and have ample space to poo in.....

 

[annrich]

I have 3 broody hens right now. I was able to move 2 of them in the dark. One of them however lost her mind in the pitch black middle of the night. She was not happy unless she was setting in the nest box. I tried the dog crate a seperate coop. The broody coops. She only wanted the nest box.
So with this hen I am taking the babies and putting them in the brooder when they hatch. Or maybe giving them to the other mommies. Because like your situation it is not safe to have the babies in the hen house.


Good Luck.

Edited for typos lol

 

[Red Star]

Thanks so much for the replies! We are excited to see our peeps and I really don't want to screw this up.

Sounds like it's a gamble to move the hen while she's still on eggs . . .

So if I wait till they hatch, do you think I can just move the new peeps and the hen into a separate crate just a few feet away or is that still a gamble? Will she not be a "mom" to the new ones?

I have an area that I can partition off with chicken wire. I can put a small waterer and a feeder in this area.

 

[Wildsky]

I built a "cage" around my broody in her nest box. Big enough for her to get out - poop etc... and included her own food and water dish!

I removed the cage about a week after her eggs hatched.

 

[Red Star]

This is what I was thinking of doing, but I think that the drop from the nesting box to the floor is too much? I'm going to measure it and see how tall it is off the floor of the coop.

Also there is this fold down step thingy that will be in the way. Maybe I can just remove it. . .

 

[Poison Ivy]

When I had my broody I moved her and the eggs into the house in a dog crate. She did fine she never left her eggs if you even tried to look at them to candle she would pitch a fit. I had to move her because the other hens would get in her nest and lay more eggs when she got up to eat. If she has been sitting for a while you should be just fine. I had a frizzle broody once who sat on air for 6 weeks because I kept taking her eggs from her. Didn't want her to be broody but finally gave up and let her have eggs. Then the other 3 frizzle girls went broody at the same time fighting over the 10 eggs!