Broody hen day 16 - Can I move her?

[carolynb]

Our broody is on day 16 - we moved her to a separate coop and now want to put her & the eggs back in the main coop with the other chickens (isolated, but so the others can see her and hopefully

her chicks). Is it ok to move her at this point? Or, should we keep her in the separate coop until after they hatch? Suggestions please

Carolyn

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

I say move her back. We don't even remove our hens,we just hatch amidst the crowd. Mamma takes care of her babies.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We all have different set-ups and reasons for what we do. I personally would have left her in the coop but isolated so the others could not get to her nest. I'm not saying this to criticize or be judgmental, just to let you know where I am coming from. And I think your odds of being successful are pretty good either way you handle this.

I know people successfully move broodies all the time at all stages of the hatch. Most do fine but occasionally you get one that will stop being broody after the move. I'm not sure why you want to move her back to the coop for the hatch so I can only make a few assumptions. Are you planning on releasing them to be raised with the flock or will you continue to isolate them for a while?

I think I'd move them back with the flock, but isolated as you said, so they can get a little used to her again. I like the broodies to raise them with the flock from day one, but you may do it differently. I think she is going to have to reclaim her place in the flock since she has been out of sight and mind for a while. Having her near them during the hatch should help that. Usually a broody has such a bad attitude when she is protecting her chicks that she can handle it either way, but this might make it easier. I think you would want to have the incubator ready or be willing to accept the consequences if she does abandon the nest, but I think your odds are pretty good either way.

Good luck!!!

 

[carolynb]

I do want to introduce the chicks to the flock - that's my reason for wanting to move her back. We didn't get a chance to move her over the weekend and we are now on day 18 with a possibility of rain today. Do you know if it is ok to move them once the chicks have hatched? I don't want to risk getting the eggs wet and after today we are in lockdown, so I can't move them.

 

[LastChanceRanch]

I say go for it. I've moved broodies at many different points and have never had a problem. I've heard of some leaving their nests but I've never seen it. Good luck!

 

[carolynb]

Great! I'll wait until they hatch (hopefully) and move them over the weekend. Thank you so much for your reply