Broody Hen Trouble, HELP

[Nickeyo]

Ok, so I have a flock of now 7 chickens since my fav hens death, and we have one golden laced wyandotte rooster and a golden laced wyandotte hen, both bantam. my hen has been going broody recently and showing the right signs like, sitting on the the nest, screaming when she gets disturbed, plucking her underside free of feathers so more heath goes to the egg etc. but I have a problem, I at the moment do not have a broody run so she is in with the flock, and i have 4 ex-battery hens in the flock, one of which lays eggs with a weak shell, so if i dont get them out in time they get broken, but when I go and open the nestbox to get it my hen is in the way. so I reach under her to get the eggs but once I do that she pecks me, leaves the nest and screams for 5-10 minutes before abandoning the nest until the next day. so how do I encorage her to sit for longer?

any ideas will be greatly appriciated, thanks

Nick

 

[JanO]

I've had hens brood on eggs that were layed by every other hen in the flock. It seems like the hens try collect as many as they can before they settle and actually get down to business. If it wasn't for the soft shelled eggs that tend to break easily I wouldn't worry too much, but in your case you definately want to remove them. Is there any way to sneak in and get the soft ones when she gets up to eat and drink? You would have to be pretty quick about it and know approximately when she gets up. Either that or I think I'd try to either move the broody hen and her clutch to a small dog crate or something inside the coop where she's more protected from the other hens. Or, if that's not possible (sometimes hens won't accept a move at all) find a way to keep the other hens out of her box. Is there any way to block the other hens access to that particular box so they have to go to another one?

 

[Nickeyo]

its a double box but no divider, im building a broody run at the moment but wont be finished until at least tomorrow, she also wont go out until i am not in the area, even if i sneak down she senses me coming and rushes back up. at night shes a real b***h, she will sit tight and if I go near she screams then launches a full on attack on my fingers, then if you disturb her in the day she gets of again.

 

[JanO]

I think you should settle for just making the box she's in less apealing to the other hens at this point. Put something in there to make the space she's in smaller either by adding a temporary wall to reduce her space or throw a couple of large rocks in there so the other hens aren't as inclined to use that box. Then quit taking the eggs and let her do her job. If you try to move her she may abandone the eggs altogether and then you have nothing.

 

[Nickeyo]

I know but I also need to get the broody run finished because she is second from bottom in the pecking order and she doesnt have a choice, when another hen comes to lay they make her move, and I have to take the broken eggs to stop egg eating and it ruining her feathers

 

[SmittenChicken]

Do you have a dog kennel, or another large box you can put her in until she has a separate broody room? Or can you use chicken wire to close off the nest she's in so the other birds can't join her?

 

[Nickeyo]

no dog stuuf, we euther have a stable or the nearly finished broody run, she is sitting well now and pecks me if i disturb her

 

[moomin]

hi nick,
if you wanted her to settle down you might want to read this. the chicken will get as many eggs as possible to sit on. if you have any golf balls then that would trick her into thinking there were more eggs and then she would settle. this tip can also stop her if you do not want to have a broody hen. you just put as many golf balls as you can find in the place where she nests and after a while she will realize that they do not hatch.
moo

 

[Nickeyo]

well I have 4 fake eggs but I need her to lay one more egg before I fill her nest with the rest, she is sitting properly but my dads being stubborn about helping me do the broody run so I have made a pen and put her in our stable.