Broody hen: first-timer questions *PIC ADDED!!!!*

[77horses]

Quote:
well I heard that inbreeding can cause some problems with the chicks that hatch from an egg that came from a hen that was bred by her father, and it's just weird because imagine that happening with humans...? Just kinda awkward.

I just heard somewhere that if a rooster breeds with one of his own chicks, it can cause internal/physical problems...? not sure if this is true or not.

 

[77horses]

Here's a pic of the setup area. As you can see, she has one other nest box(which her sister used to lay in, but is too afraid to go up near the crazy broody hen, so she's laying somewhere else. The food is right in front of her nest, so she can reach out and eat without leaving the nest. Over to the side is the waterer. And you can see that there's room for her to get up and walk around. So I think it would work if we made kinda like a wire cage around her, with a way to access the inside of it...? This way, it will keep her close to the eggs so she doesn't leave them right when the first ones hatch. And the others won't bother her, and chicks won't fall off the side of the shelf.