Broody Orpington dilemna, please advise!

[TXSuperchicken]

I have a beautiful Buff Orpington who has been sitting on eggs for 4 days now. This morning she had two eggs under her and when I came home I found 6 eggs under her. So she is letting the other hens lay and then climbing back on the nest. I moved her into a separate pen (my dogs pen) with shelter and water and brought the eggs and some of the bedding from her nesting box. All she is doing is pacing and clucking trying to get out of the pen. She won't even sit on the eggs. Should I give it more time? Will that stop the incubation process? Does it take a day or so for hens to get used to the change when you move them into a "brooder"?

I thought maybe I could mark the eggs she's been sitting on all day and every day take out the new ones (if she keeps letting the hens lay) but will the new eggs be good for human consumption if they've been kept at such a hot temperature by her sitting on them all day?

I feel bad because she's acting so confused and the other hens and rooster are standing right by the pen watching her. I don't want to make her mean or scared of us......

Please advise!!

 

[clarkestep]

I leave my broody in with all the other girls. I mark her eggs and take out any new ones each day. I suppose the eggs are fine to eat. I've not had any problems. LOL I think sitting on them for several hours won't hurt them.

 

[hinkjc]

From what I've heard you should only move broodies in the dark. This way they stay sitting. Did you move her in daylight?

 

[elmo]

This is another reason I love using plastic storage bins for nesting boxes. When my hens went broody, I simply moved the whole box with the hen and eggs inside, and put it where I wanted. My hens shrieked at me a little, but didn't budge.

 

[TXSuperchicken]

Thank you so much for your replies! I finally had to move her back into the chicken coop with the other hens last night. I marked the eggs and we shall see.....I love the idea of the moveable nesting boxes!! Next go around I might just do that since I really just want the hens to raise their own chicks. I'm glad someone else has eaten the eggs after the hen has sat on them all day. That makes me feel alot better about it. Wish me luck! I'm learning as I go!

 

[NeeleysAVLChicks]

Good luck!!!

 

[slewis]

Quote:
if you leave your broody in with other hens how do you not have other hens jump in the nest when the broody leaves for a few minutes.. I had a broody in with the others, she left, another hen sat on the eggs, so the broody jumped in another nest.. so when it was dark I moved her to a new spot, and in the morning she was pacing back and forth trying to get out. Any advice?

 

[Surehatch]

 

[Rockpile99]

I was having other hens lay in my broody BO's nest box as well. Only my Buff is broody so the other girls leave as soon as their business is done. No fighting ove the eggs, or having the BO feel displaced. It took me several days to figure out that I should mark the eggs so that I could take out the new ones, up until then I couldn't figure out what were the fresh eggs and which ones she had been sitting on for a few days. I left them all in up until I marked the eggs, didn't want to try to eat a partially developed chick!

I'm now going to be expecting chicks to hatch for the next week! First one hatched last night.