Ok, Owl, my quail d'anvers hen, has gone broody on me... a week after putting 40 some eggs in the 'bator.
and i don't want more muttbaby eggs either, so she's got wooden eggs now.
anyways, I only have a '2-holer' nest, and she is the lowest hen in the pecking order, so when the other hens go in to lay, they chase her out. but she keeps going back
my hope is to give her some chicks when they hatch, but the community nest box is about 24" off the floor and i'd hate to see them fall. (no room for a ladder either)
I have a cat crate i can use, 10-12" square on the ends, and maybe 18-24" long. I was thinking, if i could move her, i could put it on the floor of the coop, and hopefully the dominant hens wouldn't bother her?
everyone free ranges, so i don't have a pen to put the crate in. we just open the coop before dawn and close it up after dark. and i'd rather not make her a house chicken (hubby would draw the line probably too).
thoughts on this? suggestions? she's not an agressive broody but does talk quite a bit when i open the nest LOL. short video of her here. I can pick her up to check for fresh eggs underneath and when i put her back she settles back in quickly. the video was with everyone's eggs from that day and the day before, before i found the wood eggs for her.
anyways, I only have a '2-holer' nest, and she is the lowest hen in the pecking order, so when the other hens go in to lay, they chase her out. but she keeps going back
my hope is to give her some chicks when they hatch, but the community nest box is about 24" off the floor and i'd hate to see them fall. (no room for a ladder either)
I have a cat crate i can use, 10-12" square on the ends, and maybe 18-24" long. I was thinking, if i could move her, i could put it on the floor of the coop, and hopefully the dominant hens wouldn't bother her?
everyone free ranges, so i don't have a pen to put the crate in. we just open the coop before dawn and close it up after dark. and i'd rather not make her a house chicken (hubby would draw the line probably too).
thoughts on this? suggestions? she's not an agressive broody but does talk quite a bit when i open the nest LOL. short video of her here. I can pick her up to check for fresh eggs underneath and when i put her back she settles back in quickly. the video was with everyone's eggs from that day and the day before, before i found the wood eggs for her.
