Broody Hen stealing eggs?

[ChickenCanoe]

The broody hen keeps the chicks safe from the rest of the flock. If you keep them separated, you'll have to wait till they are mature to merge them. It is best for the setting hen's psyche to let her raise the chicks rather than move them to another hen. And the timing may not be right for a move either.

 

[R_Tuggle]

One possible solution is to candle eggs at17-19 days and move any underdeveloped eggs to an incubator or to the hen still sitting.

I'll definitely try that! My friend has an incubator.. I'll have to hit her up

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

TY!
I really didn't expect the stealing to happen... they had the same couple of eggs under them for over a week... then she must have really gotten the broody bug and stole eggs yesterday. The only one I know for sure is one of the original eggs is the little blue bantam EE... the rest I'm not sure. I just went back outside and my EE is now brooding on the wooden eggs in the box where her egg was... I'm wondering if I could move the 'chicks' under her when and if the first few hatch. I'm going have to move them to their own spot away from the others when they hatch to keep them safe from the rest of the flock...

Time to do some more research.

I just made a temporary partition with chicken wire from the nest box to the wall to give Momma and the babies a little bit of room. I put a chick feeder and chick waterer in with them. Only segregated them for a week. Removed the partition and away they went...

 

[R_Tuggle]

I just made a temporary partition with chicken wire from the nest box to the wall to give Momma and the babies a little bit of room. I put a chick feeder and chick waterer in with them. Only segregated them for a week. Removed the partition and away they went...

And they stayed w/the rest of the flock the whole time after you removed the partition w/out having to separate them?

I have faith that my Cochin would be able to defend her and her babies... I worry that my EE would be as successful.. she's the size of a pigeon... lol

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

And they stayed w/the rest of the flock the whole time after you removed the partition w/out having to separate them?

I have faith that my Cochin would be able to defend her and her babies... I worry that my EE would be as successful.. she's the size of a pigeon... lol

Yep. They were born on Wed. Apr 18th and I took the partition out on Sat. the 28th. I moved the chick feeder and chick waterer down with the big kids' feeder and waterer. They went out into the run and did their scratching and what not. Took naps under Momma when they needed a nap. Only noticed a little "get out of here, kid" sort of pecks if a baby infiltrated the private space of one of the others, but nothing more. They would follow Momma up the ramp to go to sleep in the nest box they were hatched in...under Momma's warm belly as the big kids took their positions on the roosts. It's now 3 weeks and all is still the same...still living alongside everyone else.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

And they stayed w/the rest of the flock the whole time after you removed the partition w/out having to separate them?

I have faith that my Cochin would be able to defend her and her babies... I worry that my EE would be as successful.. she's the size of a pigeon... lol

This is a shot of the inside of the coop with the temporary partition. You'll notice I added house screen to bottom portion. Baby tried to climb through to hang with a big girl laying an egg in next nest box. Lol

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

I think the other 3 hens and the roo being able to see the babies from the beginning helped a great deal. They got to hear them and see them for a week before I let the babies loose. While the babies were in their "area", the big kids would come up and lay their eggs in the adjoining nest box. The roo would come up and sit on the perch and watch them. I didn't know what to expect as I'm a newbie chicken owner. But I figured when in doubt, let Mother Nature take the lead...

 

[R_Tuggle]

Thank you! Those pics are great, and I have a similar setup so I could probably do something very similar as well. I"ll just need to think it out because our main coop door is right there where the nesting boxes start along the wall, and she chose the 1st one in to be broody...

I think the other 3 hens and the roo being able to see the babies from the beginning helped a great deal. They got to hear them and see them for a week before I let the babies loose. While the babies were in their "area", the big kids would come up and lay their eggs in the adjoining nest box. The roo would come up and sit on the perch and watch them. I didn't know what to expect as I'm a newbie chicken owner. But I figured when in doubt, let Mother Nature take the lead...

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[KettermanHillCoop]

Thank you! Those pics are great, and I have a similar setup so I could probably do something very similar as well. I"ll just need to think it out because our main coop door is right there where the nesting boxes start along the wall, and she chose the 1st one in to be broody...



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Yeah, it was tricky as my Mocha chose the center box to go broody in. Directly across from her was the door and ramp outside. So I had to go on a diagonal from the corner of her nest box to the corner where the clean-out human access door was. Essentially blocking off 2 of the 3 nest boxes from the others. Also the perches needed to be incorporated into the temporary wall. I'm glad I made everything removable (perches and braces) as it made the construction that much easier. One thing I added that is not picture is I stapled a piece of cardboard between the center nest box and the far end nest box that the other ladies had to use. The little buggers would jump on Momma's back then try to jump over into the other nest box.

 

[lazy gardener]

One possible solution is to candle eggs at17-19 days and move any underdeveloped eggs to an incubator or to the hen still sitting.

Agreed with above post. One other consideration: How many chicks do you really want, and how many do you have room for? And do you have an exit plan for all of your cockerels? If hens are fighting over hatching eggs, they very well might fight over chicks as well. Are you set up to protect a broody hen and her rightful babies from a chickie napper?