Broody Chicken - To move or not?!

[ashleejennifer]

Hey there! First timer here! We recently ran across a hen that has been missing for approximately 3 weeks. Well she is sitting on about 12 eggs or so....I did an attempt at egg candling for the first time ever. I thinkkkkk they are fertilized. She is not in the safest space, honestly I don’t know how a predator hasn’t gotten her yet. But I’m scared to move her and have her lose interest. However I’m also worried it’s been too long and maybe the eggs aren’t fertilized. I don’t know what to do. Any help would be so appreciated.

 

[Yardfulla poopers]

I think you can move her and the eggs into a crate inside the coop to keep them safe.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I would also move her and her eggs into a crate to put in the coop.
And Welcome to BYC!!

 

[HortonCreek]

Is there a way to encourage her to stay in the crate? We have our first ever broody hen here too and she won’t stay in the crate we gave her or any specific nesting box for that matter. She moves to new box a couple times a day.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Is there a way to encourage her to stay in the crate? We have our first ever broody hen here too and she won’t stay in the crate we gave her or any specific nesting box for that matter. She moves to new box a couple times a day.

I always have a crate for the broody and she can come and go as she pleases until it get close to hatching time. Then I shut the door and have feed and water provided so that she can show the chicks what to do when ready.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Re being afraid your broody might lose interest if u move her; if a predator gets her, you will lose your broody AND the eggs. So yes move her, after dark when she will be quiet and calm. If possible, lock her in her new nestbox/crate overnight until u can check on her/let her out the next morn. If she keeps switching nestboxes, can u give her her own special broody enclosure? When one of my broodys starts setting, i move her & eggs to her own special private secure broody pen, where she can eat, drink, poop, dust bathe, & raise her chicks. When u move her, that is also the perfect time to candle & check the viability of each egg. U will probably think of many more questions as the days pass while she is setting. U can post more questions here, or google your questions where u will get lots of feedback from past threads. As far as candling the eggs, there are many candling pics on internet that show how to tell if an egg is nonfertile, growing, or has died, as well as pics that show a chicks growth progression within the egg as the days pass. Its ok not to know much at first, because there is a wealth of info here that will help u through.