Broody hen help

[Hope hen]

This is my first time hatching eggs with a broody hen. The whole time she has been very stubborn and won’t leave the nest unless I make her.. we are very close to hatch day. I hear chirping from the eggs. Should I still move her off the nest to potty? Or leave her be for now?

 

[ChickNanny13]

Just leave her alone ... Disturbing her by making her move/leave the nest is more detrimental than helpful. Broodies do not leave the nest, they set to the point of rarely eating/drinking and deposit the "broody" poop. She knows what she's doing ...

 

[gtaus]

Welcome to the BYC forums

I have only bought day old chicks and have never hatched any eggs with a broody hen. Having said that, I think your broody hen probably knows what she needs to do and I would leave her alone and see how well she does. Just make sure she has fresh water and food available when she does leave the nest to eat. It must be very exciting to see this hatching process and I hope your broody hen is a good mother. Keep us updated.

 

[sourland]

For me it would all depend upon when the last time she left the nest and defecated and how much longer the eggs have to go before hatching.

 

[gtaus]

Here is an informative YouTube video on broody hens start to finish...

 

[Perris]

hello @Hope hen ! welcome to BYC
Good luck with the hatch! I've had four like this and I would leave her alone; that she's got to chick chirping stage indicates that she does have good instincts. Make sure the water bowl is shallow and has e.g. marbles in it so that the chicks can't drown in it. And that the feed is chick crumb; mum can eat that too.

 

[Perris]

have they hatched yet?

 

[BDutch]

Here is an informative YouTube video on broody hens start to finish...

I see some good and bad advices in the video:
Good: mark the eggs you put under the broody.
Bad: move the broody apart from the eggs to another coop. (less risk if you put a box under her in the old situation and move the broody a few days later with box, and eggs together)
Good: a spacious room where the broody and the baby chicks can stay for the first days.
Good: provide water and chick crumble near to nest box.
Bad: put more chicks under her as she hatched. Difficult job to keep 12 chicks warm. Risk of not accepting.
Bad: put the hen in a coop with a steep ladder that can cause trouble for the young chicks. Its no problem to get down, but are they smart enough to climb up? You don’t want chicks downstairs getting cold while mama is upstairs with most of her chicks.
Good: check if there a no chicks downstairs.

 

[BDutch]

This is my first time hatching eggs with a broody hen. The whole time she has been very stubborn and won’t leave the nest unless I make her.. we are very close to hatch day. I hear chirping from the eggs. Should I still move her off the nest to potty? Or leave her be for now?

Good luck with the hatching

Make sure she doesn't have to go far for food and water. I like to put it outside where she can see it.

Everything ready for the chicks? Is she breeding alone in a seperate coop or did you keep her in the flock?

Please post a photo or video of the situation if you want more tips?

 

[Shadrach]

Broody hens should always leave the nest at least once a day to eat, poop, dustbath and drink during incubation.
If they don't, there is either something not functioning properly in the broody, or the keeping conditions are wrong. A good broody does not poop in the nest site for obvious reasons.
You may find that a broody hen will stay on the nest for the first couple of days while she sets the eggs and gets them started.
Even in the last three days broody hens here will still leave the nest, even when chicks are starting to hatch.
If she is sat tight now, you should leave her be until she has finished hatching. When that time comes and she leaves the nest, do not be tempted to make her sit on any unhatched or partially hatched eggs.