Broody changed nests, eggs cold, no eggs in new nest??

[dianneS]

My broody abandoned her nest and the eggs.

I'm sure that they were just a few days from hatching. She's still broody. She changed nests and is sitting on nothing!

I don't get it? Why would she move to a nest with no eggs? I don't have the bator up and running, I'm not even going to bother trying to hatch the eggs she was sitting on. They're really cold.

What should I do with her? Should I give her some eggs and let her try again? Or just collect any new eggs I find underneath her, daily, and hope it breaks her of her brooding??

 

[americana-chick]

She might have felt the eggs moving underneath her and it scared her so she left the eggs.

 

[Ducks-R-Us]

Same thing happened to me today, but I put her back in the right nest and will candle the eggs in a couple days to see if any are good. These were really cold also. I think I caused mine to go to another nest, I noticed I had a new silkie laying eggs yesterday, so I put some golf balls in a nest next to this one, thinking I might get another hen to go broody, but it looks like it backfired and my only broody hopped on the wrong nest.

 

[irenew]

Keep the eggs warm you still might get something. Our broody left the nest a week early. They are on a tupperware on the heater for want of something better. Out of the dozon eggs 2 hatched day 20, nothing day 21, one has pipped todaY. There may yet be hope for the others.

The hen left the eggs 9 hours before I reaLised something was up--

 

[zaylinda]

The best way I know to make sure a broody doesn't get on a new nest, and other hens don't lay new eggs under, is to separate her in a smaller cage in the coop. This is what my mother has always done. This way has the added benefit of her own food and water dishes in her pen, so you can see that she has been eating and drinking - even if you don't SEE her eating and drinking.
I would put her back on the right nest as quickly as you can, some of them may still hatch!

 

[Ducks-R-Us]

Just candled the 4 eggs - three are still good! Only lost one chicken egg and all four eggs felt real cold to the touch. We'll see if they hatch - they are due to hatch on Sunday

 

[dianneS]

Well, she got back on the nest on her own. I have no idea how long she was off of it, but she has a few new eggs underneath her now! Maybe it was another hen that chased her off the nest?? I'm going to candle them to see how they are doing.

 

[Kev]

Always a good idea to either isolate or move a broody to a nest by herself with no access from other hens. That way she cannot change nests or be bothered/chased off etc, etc. If it's a row of wooden nests, you can pin a wire to that nest front and take out the hen at least once a day for toilet break. then let her go back by herself and put wire back on.. repeat 21 days.

I use covered cat litter boxes as nest boxes.. one advantage is if I need to move a broody hen, can just carry the whole nest to an isolation pen..

Anyways if that happens again, either move the hen back to the right nest, or move the eggs under her and she will warm them up again. Eggs under broodies usually are pretty "hardy" and survive getting chilled and other oopsies pretty well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Definitely give the eggs a chance. You'd be surprised how tough some of the eggs are.

What I suspect happened is that she got off the nest for her constitutional, another hen was on her nest to lay an egg when she gotback, the broody got confused and went to the wrong nest. We don't call them birdbrains for nothing. I suggest you check out this thread. You may not need any of this information, but it might help or you may even want to add to it.

Isolate a Broody? Thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=213218

 

[dianneS]

Quote:
What a great idea!