Broody hen won't stay in dog pen--lock her in?

[vstoltzfus]

I've had hens for years, but I recently got roosters. I'm thrilled that one of my hens is broody. Unfortunately she's sitting on the favorite nest in the henhouse, and when I tried moving her to a little dog carrier, she got out and went back to the nest. The problem is the other hens are laying their eggs on top of her. I have to reach under her several times a day and pull out the eggs that I haven't marked as hers. On top of that, she started eating eggs for nourishment. I know from experience this is a very hard habit to break. So my question is this: should I put her back in the dog carrier with food and water, and lock her in? That way no other hen can get in to lay eggs, she'll be undisturbed, and her egg eating will be limited. Is this a good idea? BTW, I would put the kennel in the henhouse so she wouldn't be completely separated from the flock.

 

[dl9976]

That's a tough one....she might be better off being alone to brood so she couldnt see what she was missing but, taking her out sounds like a good idea to me. It is probably what I would do. U def dont want her to start eating eggs..... GOODLUCK! let me know how it turns out and if I can be of any other help...I am no eggspert but do love my chickens.

 

[JulyChicken]

I recently found this great blog about broody hens and learned a few things, I encourage reading it sometime if you have the time, here is the address: http://blog.mypetchicken.com/2012/02/01/what-is-a-broody-hen/
also the comments written on the blog are also helpful

 

[JulyChicken]

or a another alternative is to block off that nest for a week to a month, if they continue to lay eggs on each other block the nest off for a longer time and that should do the trick