I have my bucket nest boxes set up so it's easy to remove them, if any need cleaning etc. Well, I had a hen get broody, and very protective of eggs, I suspect her own plus another 1-2 hens would lay in that box then she'd do the broody thing. I collect eggs daily, and get a half-dozen a day, and she's be there protecting 2-4 of them. She was getting hard to get by, and would not leave the next box, and peck me and stuff. Well, I took the nest box and very gently, lifted it up and set it on the floor of the coop, and she'd kinda step out, wondering I guess, why she'd have a nest down on the ground anyway. Then I'd put it back and collect the eggs. I did this 2 days in a row and now she's not all broody any more.
It seems like a kind of cool, gentle, way to deal with a broody hen. Of course you could set the nest box down, and she could walk out and stomp on your head too, YMMV
It seems like a kind of cool, gentle, way to deal with a broody hen. Of course you could set the nest box down, and she could walk out and stomp on your head too, YMMV
