Broody hen in nest 4 feet off the ground.

[The Grove]

My black Australorp went broody in a nest 4 feet of the ground. She is sitting on 12 fertile eggs. The coop is shared with 11 other hens and 1 rooster. They free range all day, and only go in to sleep at night.

My concern is that when he eggs hatch the chicks will get hurt falling off nest. What is the best way to move her and the eggs to another coop without her abandoning her clutch? Thanks in advance!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ve seen a hen get her chicks out of a ten feet high hay loft. Shew said jump and they did, then bounced up and ran to her. The four feet up doesn’t bother me. The nest itself might.

Does it have a decent lip on it to help keep the chicks form falling out? It probably does or the hatching eggs would have likely been scratched out when she was turning them. The real concern is how big is the nest? The first chicks that hatch often climb on top of Mama while they are waiting for the later chicks to hatch. If Mama is sitting real close to the edge the chick might miss the nest entirely when it falls off. I had that happen when I let a hen hatch in a kitty litter bucket, not the bin but the bucket the litter comes in. It was only 7-1/2” wide. I had to toss chicks back in the nest with Mama three different times. She was just too close to the edge. If she is not real close to the edge that should not be a problem.

There is no way to guarantee that a hen will not break from being broody or refuse a new nest if you try to move her. A lot of them will accept a new nest but you never know for sure.

If you decide to move her, fix the area for her. Make a nest that you can lock the hen in the nest itself. Make sure it is pretty dark inside the nest itself with that door closed especially, but kind of dark with the door open. The area you fix needs to be predator proof of course, but you also need to be able to lock the hen in the pen so she cannot get back to her old nest. The nest needs to be in the shade so it does not become an oven.

When you are ready wait until it is pretty dark. Then with as little light and commotion as you can, move her and the eggs to the new nest. Lock her in the nest. Do not open that nest and let her out the next day. Leave her locked up all day. A broody hen regularly goes without food and water for a day at a time. This is not being cruel to her. She is living mostly off of stored fat. She will be OK.

After she has spent one full day locked in her nest, let her out and see what she does. She may pace back and forth trying to find a way out but be patient. After an hour or more of pacing she may go back to her new nest. She may not. There are no guarantees either way but this method normally works for me.

 

[The Grove]

Thanks for replying. The nest is 12" x 12", and it has a 2" lip in the front.

I tried to move her today in the morning and she kept trying to get out. I let her out and she went back to her old nest and was very angry it was empty. I put the eggs back and she sat back on them. I may try to move her in a week or so. Thanks for the advice.