Broody hen in a raised coop?

[Mrs. K]

Do not worry about chicks getting down out of the coop. It really isn't an issue. They will get down, but might not get back up.

I tried twice to move a broody - and she went back both times. So the advice above is good, move her - settle her and then give her the eggs after several days.

But you do sound like you have a lot going on with the turkey and ducks and chicks.

Good luck,

Mrs K

 

[ajwhitti79]

I keep my broodies in dog kennels. I close the doors so they can not go back to their original spot and so the other hens can not lay in their nest. I open the cages each morning. Some go out on their own, others need encourage ment to take a break. The first few days the hens go to their original nest when they are done with their break. I pick them and lock them back in the cage. After a few days they return to the cage on their own.

So this answered a lot of the questions I had with what I am going through at the moment. After a long day of rearranging, I ended up moving Bubbles (after dark) and her clutch to a 4-chicken big box store coop with a small run attached. At first she was freaking out and I kept encouraging her back to the eggs. She finally settled and sat all night. Today she was still sitting 100% in broody mode. Until about 2pm when the flock began dusting. She was ready to get off the nest for her daily constitutional and freaked out because she couldn't leave the enclosed run to join the flock. She even started panic calling for the rooster. So I let her out. She was out for about 2 hours. She dusted, ate food from the flocks food dishes and drank water from the flock water pans (ignoring the food and water in the maternity ward). And she returned to the main coop nesting boxes to brood on the freshly laid eggs that were in there. So I picked her up and put her back on HER nest with her eggs in the ward. I now get that this is imprinted on her. So I should just keep moving her back to the maternity ward and hopefully this will break the habit of going to the main coop? Should I stop letting her out to join the flock during her breaks? She was very upset when she couldn't get out. I don't usually ley the flock out of the run until all the laying is done for the day, so maybe I should make Bubbles leave the clutch before I let the flock out so she doesn't have any intruders? I feel like she will just freak out that she can't get into the main coop to get back to her chosen nesting spot. Part of me thinks that I just need to leave her locked up, let her have her tantrum and she will get over it. She has food, water, plenty of space to dust and stretch.

 

[ajwhitti79]

UPDATE:
This morning, I went out to feed the chickens and I let Bubbles out of her maternity ward. I opened all the doors on the coop and had to encourage her off the nest. She drank water from her drinker and ate her own food! Then she went to the dusting hole and she wandered around for a while. She was still a bit irritated that she couldn't get into the main coop and she wandered around it, complaining about it the whole time. I went about my morning chores and after Bubbles had been out and about for 40 minutes or so, she went back to her nest and settled back in! Letting her out before I let the flock out was a great idea and it's a routine I can handle.