Broody hen sharing coop with hens

[anniep]

My Serama hen went broody. The roo is a serama also. She is laying on 7 serama eggs but the Orpington cross ladies are sneaking in and laying a quick egg whenever she gets up to eat. I don’t want anymore full size hens and I’ve noticed by the time I can pull the large eggs, they’ve already begun developing(surprised the serama roo can fertilize full size hens... but indeed he does). So my question is... will it upset my serama hen if I enclose her portion of the coop with a mesh wire wall? Or shall I just keep trying to pull the large eggs from the nest daily? I don’t want to make her abandon the whole project by either option I’m considering.

There are other nesting boxes available... apparently they aren’t good enough lol.

 

[Caliber]

Hi, congrats on the broody, baby chicks are so much fun.
You should be able to separate the hen just fine. I've done this with several of my broody hens. The easiest time of day to do this is at night because they will be well settled on the nest and unlikely to leave or be upset.
What does your nest box look like? You could definitely build a wire cage around her inside your coop.
If you can't separate her, you might also mark the eggs you do want her sitting on so that you can tell them apart easily from the other eggs and collect the eggs more frequently.

 

[anniep]

Well I’ll try to continue stealing the big eggs each day I guess. She gets off to eat a few times a day.

 

[bobbi-j]

If you remove the extras every day, there won't be any development.

 

[Goose girl1]

we never separated one of our hens but kept stealing any eggs that were add by other hens (she was sitting on way to many) but in the end we gave up because she got upset whenever we stole one. when they finally hatched only her eggs did!

 

[anniep]

That’s encouraging! Thank you! I’ll try steal new eggs every day. She doesn’t get off much and she’d likely have my wrist for dinner if I reached under her lol. I’m gonna relax and let nature do its thing but try to get the new eggs as they are laid.

 

[bobbi-j]

That’s encouraging! Thank you! I’ll try steal new eggs every day. She doesn’t get off much and she’d likely have my wrist for dinner if I reached under her lol. I’m gonna relax and let nature do its thing but try to get the new eggs as they are laid.

It's very important to get the new eggs every day. Wear long sleeves and a glove if you need to. Otherwise, they'll start to develop, too, but she won't necessarily hatch them out. When her eggs - the longest incubated ones - hatch, she will most likely abandon the other ones and leave a bunch of partly developed chicks to die in the shell. The other thing is, if you don't get all the new ones, she may end up with more than she can effectively cover, and there will be a chance that none of them will hatch. When I'm checking for extra eggs, I usually slip one hand under the broody's keelbone and abdomen and lift her just enough to see and grab any unmarked eggs in the nest. Takes less than a minute. You do have the eggs you want to hatch marked, right?

 

[happyfrenchman]

Hard to leave a broody in with the rest... you never know what is going on. The eggs mysteriously multiply when you are not looking. (You could mark the ones you want to stay in there). I think most people would tell you it is easier to separate. Especially if some actually hatch, you will be glad they are somewhere with less traffic or the chicks will get mashed.

 

[anniep]

No I do not have the 7 eggs I want to hatch marked. The reason being, they are serama eggs and the rest of my hens are full sized so I just pull out all full size eggs daily and leave the seven serama ones. I’m making it a priority to check eggs twice a day now. She gets off at feeding time to eat so I can quickly pull the big eggs then. Shall I mark them even tho any other eggs laid will be obvious since they are full size?

 

[anniep]

Also, she is the highest on the pecking order, the full size hens are terrified of her and run if she approaches so they will not be bullying her attempting to kick her from the nest. They just sneak in while she eats and lay a quick egg