Broody hen preparing for hatch- day 17

[Monkeybean415]

I'm sure this has been asked a lot and I apologize. This is my first broody hen and am very excited about hatching day. We chose to keep her in the nesting box instead of bringing her in and have been taking her off her best ourselves everyday to check for fresh laid eggs and so she can eat and drink. Should we continue to do this after tomorrow (day 18)? She wasn't leaving the nest in her own and I don't have a good place to put food and water where the other hens won't knock it over.

Any other tips for hatching and the days leading up to it?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I'm sure this has been asked a lot and I apologize. This is my first broody hen and am very excited about hatching day. We chose to keep her in the nesting box instead of bringing her in and have been taking her off her best ourselves everyday to check for fresh laid eggs and so she can eat and drink. Should we continue to do this after tomorrow (day 18)? She wasn't leaving the nest in her own and I don't have a good place to put food and water where the other hens won't knock it over.

Any other tips for hatching and the days leading up to it?

Your hen is not leaving the nest for a very good reason. It is unnecessary for her to leave the nest except for maybe every 3 to 5 days. Hens only need safe shelter, food, and water from us. If she has these three necessities she can figure out when to leave the nest by herself. Allowing hens to lay in an already sitting hens' nest is a good way to bust up a clutch of eggs when the sitting hen already occupying the nest takes exception with another hen laying in her nest. Take my word for it, it is a poor practice.