broody hen - hatching eggs question

[lacasitarojafarm]

Hi, I am new to broody hens. This is the first year my husband and I have had chickens. I have laenred a lot but this is the first time I have tried to get a broody hen to hatch chicks. The hen is in a wall mounted nest. She only likes this one nest that's in the wall mounted unit, none of the ones that's on the floor. She sits on the eggs really well but when she gets up to eat and strech her legs the other hens go in there and the eggs she's setting on get kicked all over the coop. We put some darm Marans eggs and one millefleur bantam egg under her just to see what would happen but at this point I *highly* doubt they will hatch. Should we just give up? I have tried putting her in the nest boxes that are on the floor but she just gets off them and goes back to the one she likes. I could enclose her in a ground floor nest box but my husband says she would trample the eggs if we did that. Is that true?

 

[Southernbelle]

If she's truly broody, she shouldn't. If she's a dedicated broody and you confine her to a dog crate or something, she should settle down within a day or so and keep sitting. After she settles, give her eggs to hatch.

I don't know what your wall-mounted nest box looks like, but you might be able to mount a wire cage (like a small rabbit cage) in front of the nest and put food and water in it for her, so she will be confined and the other hens will be kept out.

 

[tuesdays chicks]

I'm having the same problem with my broody and the other hens, they like to lay their eggs in her nest, not so bad as they don't kick the eggs about I had another pullet in the nest with her took 1 of her eggs its not too bad I think the eggs she is sitting on aren't fertile,I'm planning on sneaking some chicks in there later, idk how the other girls will react to the babies plan on moving her to the other coop then, i hope she takes to the babies.
someone did tell me to try to block off her nest from the other chickens mine doesn't like being in a separate pen.

 

[lacasitarojafarm]

I've found her eggs (I marked em) way on the other side of the coop. What are the odds that they will hatch?

 

[Southernbelle]

Quote:
Depends on how long she's been off of them and how cool your temps have been.

Over the summer, I found developing eggs knocked out of the nest for at least a day and put them back under the broody for a sucessful hatch, but nighttime temps were in the 80's, so not dangerous. I had a hen get up from a nest for a few hours in the winter and lost them all, so it just depends...

I'd get them warmed up and candle them to check for movement.

 

[lacasitarojafarm]

That's a good idea. I will candle them tomorrow.