Broody Hen Thread!

Do you have a picture? Pretty please....:)

I have mine suspended with wires but my coop walls are 2x4 construction and I am able to rest it on a support board at the wall and attach with wires from the front corners to the back wall....

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One of our young hens showing how she prefers to teach her little ones about roosting on the big bird shelves...

One of the corners of the coop, you can see I was using the lowest shelf for a couple of extra egg boxes and a broody hen (in the corner) I added a perching bar to the lower shelf to allow the hens to jump up and debate which box they prefer. Right now I have removed the 2 blue boxes and have a group of 24 week old 'teens' using that lower shelf as a roost.

a close up of the broody shown tucked into the corner in the above picture.

a few of our older hens displaying the multi-purpose intent of my shelf designs. The birds can roost around the edges or even in the sand if they prefer (some of my older birds seem to prefer just settling down in the sand)
The sand filling the shelves (only needs to be an inch or two deep at most) is very easy to clean/sift and keeps the floor much cleaner. I made the top shelf larger with an angled corner to allow room for the birds to move around freely and even have a waterer tucked into a corner for them. They all seem to enjoy heading into the coop in the evening, going up the ramps and stopping for a drink before heading to their preferred spot for the night. The broodies usually bring their chicks up to the boards by about week 3, normally they stay on a lower shelf for a week or so and then often the broody moves them to the top shelf for a week or so before letting them go.
 
I love your setup fisherlady! Maybe when we get our larger coop up and running I can configure something like that. My current two coops are both much smaller, can't quite swing the shelf system. I didn't get a chance to put up a second roost today, so I placed a square step stool in the coop. Mom and babies settled on that for the evening, at least they are out of the nest box! Will work on a better setup this weekend hopefully. I had read before that your coop is never large enough, and never finished, and I see that is true.
 
2 of my hens 10 eggs have hatched so far!
jumpy.gif
They were due to hatch yesterday. One hatched last night, and one hatched today at 6:00 Am. I assume the rest who successfully developed will hatch today and tomorrow :)
Anyways, PICTURES:













I will be moving Rhonda along with her chicks into the house this afternoon (around 3:00)
I love that hen and her sooo toatally adorable chick!!!
 
I have mine suspended with wires but my coop walls are 2x4 construction and I am able to rest it on a support board at the wall and attach with wires from the front corners to the back wall....

700
One of our young hens showing how she prefers to teach her little ones about roosting on the big bird shelves...

One of the corners of the coop, you can see I was using the lowest shelf for a couple of extra egg boxes and a broody hen (in the corner) I added a perching bar to the lower shelf to allow the hens to jump up and debate which box they prefer. Right now I have removed the 2 blue boxes and have a group of 24 week old 'teens' using that lower shelf as a roost.

a close up of the broody shown tucked into the corner in the above picture.

a few of our older hens displaying the multi-purpose intent of my shelf designs. The birds can roost around the edges or even in the sand if they prefer (some of my older birds seem to prefer just settling down in the sand)
The sand filling the shelves (only needs to be an inch or two deep at most) is very easy to clean/sift and keeps the floor much cleaner. I made the top shelf larger with an angled corner to allow room for the birds to move around freely and even have a waterer tucked into a corner for them. They all seem to enjoy heading into the coop in the evening, going up the ramps and stopping for a drink before heading to their preferred spot for the night. The broodies usually bring their chicks up to the boards by about week 3, normally they stay on a lower shelf for a week or so and then often the broody moves them to the top shelf for a week or so before letting them go.
I love the broody, her nest looks sooo comfy!!
love.gif
 
My broody WINTER!!!! She was one of those broodies that just love to not use the nest boxes. One day, i noticed that she was missing, i was worried and thought that she had maybe been taken by a hawk! Anyway, like a week later i was walking on our front deck when all of a sudden i heard this huge growl!!! I checked underneath and it was her, i was soooo happy that she was okay!!!

Here she is, sorry it just rained and she has gotten wet!!
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