Broody hen have questions and advice.

I_luv_chiks

Chirping
Mar 16, 2019
41
143
79
Indiana
Ok I have no clue what i'm doing lol I've only had chickens for a couple years and never had one turn broody. Ok so here is the situation. In Feb. I got a silver laced whyandot so she is about 6 to 7 months old well alot of times the kids collect the eggs so no need for me to check their boxes every day i had seen my silver laced out so didn't think anything about it. Until i had to get the eggs I noticed she was sitting on a few and couldn't move. Well seems from what I have read she has gone broody. So a couple nights ago I noticed she was out eating so I snuck out and decided to shine a light in the eggs and sure enough some of those eggs have chicks In them and to my shock they are huge like the egg is almost full. So he is my question do I need to move her a diff coop so she is separated with get eggs. And how do I safely move her eggs without hurting them. Will she be ok with that. In two years I've never had a hen do this. Or can she stay in the nesting box and hatch her eggs. Will the other chickens attack babies and how do I feed them seperate if they do stay in. I tried moving her yesterday so I could see eggs and she was having no part of it. Needing advice asap
 
In my opinion, I would wait for the chicks to hatch, they should be here any day now! If you can, I would put something in front of that nesting box she is in, like temporarily put up chicken wire if you can. I wouldn't move them, I am unsure if it's safe. I've had a hen more than halfway through brooding when I moved her and she ditched the eggs. :( but every hen is different she may keep them.
 
do I need to move her a diff coop
like Lily (to whom Hello @Lily-Harper-White and Welcome to BYC, BTW! :frow) I wouldn't move her. But looking a bit further ahead, how high is the nest box off the ground? If it is very high you might want to set up a brooder area on the ground. (The chicks would survive any fall in all likelihood, but would not be able to get back up.) That would also free up the nesting box again for your layers.
Will the other chickens attack babies
In my experience (I've had 3 broodies hatch within the coop, with 2 roosters as well as other hens) the chicks will be fine; mam will protect them from any who get too close initially, and once they've had a look at the new arrivals, most hens aren't interested. A good roo will even look after them too, and certainly won't attack them.
how do I feed them seperate if they do stay in
you'll need a bag of chick crumb, and a waterer with stones or marbles in so the chicks can't drown in it, set near the brooder area. The whole flock can eat chick crumb (and will if given a chance); you could either wait till they're out before putting it down near the chicks, or provide enough for everyone, with OS on the side for the layers.
 

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