Broody hen setting in the woods

[MrRoy]

Back story: I allow my flock (26+roo) to free range around the house and in the adjacent wooded areas during the day and they put themselves up at night and I lock them in after a headcount. One night last week, I was one hen short. I searched the property and found no sign of her dead or alive. My first assumption was a hawk or owl. A few days later I noticed her in the chicken pen eating and drinking and thought “oh, you’re back. Great”. However at that evenings headcount I was one short again. I thought I was going crazy until a few days later, you guessed it, here she is again, eating and drinking but then I noticed her acting strangely, sparring with other hens and looking all fluffed up and I realized she had gone broody. But where? I watched her for about 45 minutes after getting her fill and preening herself. She was wandering around the edge of the wood line then all of a sudden she made a beeline into the woods and I lost sight of her. I searched around with my two wiener dogs and after about 30 minutes having bloodied my legs through the briars I heard a Squawk and then saw one of my dogs on point and there she was setting on at least a dozen eggs from her and other hens. I couldn’t believe it.
Weather situation: We’ve been in a drought here in South Louisiana and we had just gotten our first rain in 2 months a couple of days earlier and we were due for more in the coming days. For now I made a shelter over her and her clutch until I could figure out what to do.
Options: I don’t want to leave her exposed to the weather and predation outside the coop and pen at night but I would like to allow her to continue to incubate her clutch. I thought about making her a small hut inside the pen that is also separated from the rest of the flock but safe from predators but after reading other posts that mention broody hens abandoning their clutch if moved, I am not sure what I should do. Sorry for the long story, I hope it was somewhat interesting. I am open to suggestions on a solution. Thanks for reading.

 

[SmiYa0126]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive can you help?

I moved my broody and she still was broody. Can you move her somewhere where she won't be bothered?

 

[Eggcessive]

Unfortunately your broody has eggs laid over some time, and they will not hatch at the same time. So I would probably break her and then next time she goes broody, place her in the coop. She is at risk of being killed outside of the coop at night, but of course you know that. I break a broody by caging her with no bedding. If the cage is large enough, I provide a roost. But a dog crate with no bedding, and some people set it up on blocks to allow air circulation underneath, is a good way to break them.

 

[Shadrach]

Reads like you've got a good broody hen. If she's been getting off her nest and coming home for food, water, dust bath and a bit of swearing at the other chickens, she's definitely got the hang of being broody.

I used to get this a lot.
A few examples of outside nests.

I thought about making her a small hut inside the pen that is also separated from the rest of the flock but safe from predators but after reading other posts that mention broody hens abandoning their clutch

I'll assume she's been sitting a few days now. Has she been sitting for more than three days? One really doesn't want to be moving eggs and broodies in their first three days of sitting if possible. Sometimes the nests are so unsafe it has to be done.
The next thing that is handy to know is what position she is in your group of chickens. Junior hens often have more problems sitting in their home coop than more senior hens. It's not black and white, but it's what I've found to be true in many cases.
Some nest sites are safer than others but all have the problem that while they may be well hidden from sight, they are not well hidden from a ground predator that may hunt be smell. as your dogs have illustrated.

I've moved a lot of broodies who nested away from their coops. One does take a risk that they abandon the eggs, but a hen that's gone broody once usually has another go and with 26 hens I doubt you are short of eggs.

What can you build and how quickly is the next thing.
I built this and others like it for broodies and isolation.

It sounds like you have a secure space for a coop in a secure run so a much simpler nest box might be a good option.
This article may help you decide what sort of nest box may be most suitable.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...e-make-a-sitting-hens-job-so-difficult.74389/

The closer you can get to making a nest similar to the nest she's made the more likely she is to sit and hatch.

I would move her. There have been times I haven't moved hens and nests have been raided, sometimes the hen got away, other times unfortunatley not. My view, a hen that goes broody and has good broody instincts is worth countless fertile eggs, so I tend to put the welfare of the hen first and if she decides not to sit, then so be it.

I moved broodies like this as soon as it got properly dark. You'll need something to carry the eggs in. The broody will be in her trance so she should be easy to pick up if you're quite and calm. One you've got her it should be too dark for her to want to escape and I used to carry the eggs in one hand and the broody in the other.
Once you've put the eggs in the new nest sit her on them and lock her in for the night. In the morning you should open the new nest box and let her out. She may go back to the old nest site, so before you let her out in the morning go to the old nest site and make a major mess of it. Make it look like a predator has been.
You can of course keep her locked in the run but not in her nest box. It's not ideal but as long as she can get off her nest to bathe, eat, and poop, she should be fine.
I very very rarely had a moved hen abandon her eggs having moved them to a suitable new location by this method. If the nest is good and she feels safe that is most often enough for her to continue to sit.
Good Luck.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I concur with all that @Shadrach said. I value my broody hens over any eggs they may hatch, and would be heartbroken if a predator found and killed an unprotected broody hen. I always move my broodies because though they are safe from ground predators due to LGDs, abundant woodland snakes sometimes find the eggs, and those same snakes Always find the chicks. I have had a few broodies quit sitting on their eggs after i moved them, but the vast majority have continued to sit. As Shadrach said, I would move her and her clutch at night and hope she stays on the eggs the next morn. The only thing I will add is a suggestion to candle all the eggs when you move them to determine if they are viable and near the same stage of incubation. If her hen friends have been donating their eggs daily to her clutch, they won't all hatch at the same time, and your broody will eventually abandon the eggs at later incubation stages to tend to her first-hatched chicks.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'd try moving her if she's been committed for a while.
Depending on how large she is, she may be able to brood all the eggs, but I'd candle them and remove any eggs that are obviously clear or non-viable. Then in a week or so, re-candle and weed out more non-viable egg is need be.

Move her at night and have a helper if you have one. I've moved screaming, clawing and biting Gamefowl hens at night by myself before, so it's doable but having help is much better. Also while you have her, do a good quick check for any lice/mites. Sounds like she's getting up off the nest and taking care of herself, but broody hens can be a magnet for external parasites. Hopefully this will not break her.

 

[MrRoy]

Wow! Thanks for all of the great advice, info and stories. This hen was purchased as a chick in March of this year. She is a production layer (ie. red sexlink, comet, red star, etc) not exactly sure, so that’s why I was surprised at her going broody. I have had Buff Orpingtons go broody before and I have a couple of Marans that are sometimes known to go broody but not this one. With all that said, She is safe now. I moved her, not without complaint by no means, into a medium plastic dog crate and placed it inside a dog run type fence under roof inside the chicken pen. I will leave her confined to the crate over night and then give her access to stretch her legs and wings, eat, drink, etc if she wants tomorrow. She is setting on 13 eggs which I will attempt to candle the next time she gets off them. I assume she has been setting since she went missing on 8/25 and I realize that the eggs were laid on different days, so correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t chick development not begin until the incubation starts? I will keep y’all posted. Thanks again.
Ps. Also, I don’t think any donations were made to her clutch by other hens since she began setting. She’s pretty feisty and very protective of her space.

 

[Shadrach]

Wow! Thanks for all of the great advice, info and stories. This hen was purchased as a chick in March of this year. She is a production layer (ie. red sexlink, comet, red star, etc) not exactly sure, so that’s why I was surprised at her going broody. I have had Buff Orpingtons go broody before and I have a couple of Marans that are sometimes known to go broody but not this one. With all that said, She is safe now. I moved her, not without complaint by no means, into a medium plastic dog crate and placed it inside a dog run type fence under roof inside the chicken pen. I will leave her confined to the crate over night and then give her access to stretch her legs and wings, eat, drink, etc if she wants tomorrow. She is setting on 13 eggs which I will attempt to candle the next time she gets off them. I assume she has been setting since she went missing on 8/25 and I realize that the eggs were laid on different days, so correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t chick development not begin until the incubation starts? I will keep y’all posted. Thanks again.

How wonderfull, a broody Red Sex Link.
Reads like you've got it sorted. All I can do is wish you and her luck.

Edit.
Yes the eggs all start to develope once she has started to sit. 13 eggs is quite a large clutch but once sorted the eggs out if there are six to eight left that are fertile that would be a good number.

 

[Perris]

I realize that the eggs were laid on different days, so correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t chick development not begin until the incubation starts?

no you're not wrong. It is only when other hens have been adding eggs to the nest after the broody started sitting that a staggered hatch results.

 

[Farmgirl16]

Hi so I have a situation similar where I couldn’t find my hen for a few days and I was worried she got eaten by a hawk, but then I saw her finally, and caught her then let her go and followed her and she had a nest of 16 eggs. I found this out yesterday we really want her to hatch eggs but it’s outside of the coop near my granddad’s house that’s on our property. She’s been sitting on them for a while. Should I move her or should I build a hut around her?