Broody Hen please help

[CrazyChickLady64]

I have a hen that has gone broody. I have acquired fertilized eggs for her. I want to keep her in the coop with the rest of the flock. We plan on making her an area under the poop tray with a chicken wire wall as she is in one of the nesting boxes. I am not sure if taking her completely away and placing her in another coop would be a problem when she has hatched her eggs. I don't want to have to try and reintroduce her to the flock. This is my first broody girl and have read and seen others keep the hen in with the flock while she is sitting on her eggs. Please give me all your advice tips and tricks to make this a success. Also I have a Cockerel I am trying to integrate in with my hens he is 3 months old and still not fully integrated he still stays in his area away from them but does free range with them. Will I need to be concerned with him hurting the babies when they hatch and are ready to meet the flock?

 

[LaurenRitz]

Mark the fertile eggs so you can easily remove any that other flock members lay in the same place. As long as there's no arguing over the nest, you don't need a separate coop, but may want to block her off at lockdown so the other chickens don't accidentally crush the hatchlings.

I personally wouldn't move her to another coop unless there's some kind of threat (snakes, rats, dogs). Make sure she has food and water, and remember that if you do isolate her you'll need to let her out every day to poop.

Keep an eye on the coop to make sure there's no arguing over the nest. Eggs can get crushed easily if Mom has to defend her nest from other hens.

 

[CrazyChickLady64]

So we plan to leave her where she is and add an extended area to make it a little bigger and deter the other hens from wanting to lay in that box as it is the favorite. and will add two nesting boxes under the poop tray. Should I place food and water for her in that area or just leave an opening for her to go out to the run and eat and drink? Thank you for your advice.

 

[LaurenRitz]

She needs exercise as well, and she needs to dust bathe. For the first 18 days she'll leave the nest a couple times a day to take care of her own needs.

 

[Lovelyhens22]

So we plan to leave her where she is and add an extended area to make it a little bigger and deter the other hens from wanting to lay in that box as it is the favorite. and will add two nesting boxes under the poop tray. Should I place food and water for her in that area or just leave an opening for her to go out to the run and eat and drink? Thank you for your advice.

Hi, there!
Congratulations on a broody hen!! I had a broody hen late last summer. Here are some things I did that made it a successful hatching.

I did not put a cage around her egg box until lockdown so that she could go out, eat, drink, and take a quick dust bath. I would recommend doing this. (Side note: I wouldn't worry about her leaving the nest for a solid 30 minutes to take a dust bath. The eggs will be fine and if she doesn't return to the nest by 35 or 40 minutes, I would take her back to it) But not putting a cage in meant I had to keep a close eye on her nest box to ensure no other hens got in it and no additional eggs were added. If you can't keep a close eye on the nest box, I would go ahead and add in that cage.

I would also not worry about any other hens or roos attacking the chicks. The mother hen will keep them safe and let others know not to bother them. All wise chickens will know not to even think about messing with her.

Oh, I also forgot to mention that it is totally fine and actually a really good choice to keep her in the flock as the chicks grow. I didn't really need to do much for the chicks until they were about 6 or 7 weeks old and the mother left them to their own devices.

Keep us posted! And good luck!

 

[LaurenRitz]

FYI, "lockdown" is the last few days when the chicks are ready to hatch. The hen likely won't leave the nest at all during this period.

 

[pvaldes]

> I don't want to have to try and reintroduce her to the flock

"I'm not be jailed here with you. You are jailed here with ME!"

This is what will happen. Mama hens with chicken are typically vicious and if there is enough space to keep the distance, everybody will let them alone. Hens are readily accepted on the flock after leaving the chicks.

> roosters could attack the chicks.

Some kill the chicks trying to mate with the hen, other are loving fathers and chicks benefit greatly of having then around. It depends a lot of the rooster and of the number of hens in the flock.

 

[Lovelyhens22]

Hey, again! How did the hatching go? We'd love any updates.

 

[desertchix]

Hi. I have a very similar situation right now and I was wondering, if we successfully hatch chicks and keep them with the flock, how do I ensure they have starter feed and the flock has layer feed?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi. I have a very similar situation right now and I was wondering, if we successfully hatch chicks and keep them with the flock, how do I ensure they have starter feed and the flock has layer feed?

You cannot. What I do is feed all of them a low calcium feed and offer oyster shells on the side. The ones that need the extra calcium for eggshells usually know it and eat enough. The ones that don't need that much calcium may eat a bite or two but generally won't eat enough to harm themselves.

I think you'll find this is the most common way people on this forum handle this problem.