Broody Hen

[TinyDancer]

So we have a super broody hen. My friend has offered to give us some fertilized eggs for her to sit in but I don't know much about egg hatching. Currently she is brooding up in our coop (our chicken run is under the coop). Is it alright if she just has the fertilized eggs up there? Do I need to put a nesting box up there or should she be moved to the run below? The entire thing is enclosed so I am not worried about her safety but I want her to be warm and comfortable. Also, she seems to brood in the same area. Do hens get attached to a spot and if I move her, will she abandon the eggs? I just wondered about moving her below because once the chicks hatch I wasn't sure what would stop them from falling to their death if they were up in the coop! Thanks for any tips you can give! I'd love to get a few sweet little chicks out of this deal!

 

[CluckerFamily]

I normally move the broody hen into a crate that I have in the coop, the door stays open so the hen can come and go to get food, water, to poop, etc. Once day 21 hits, I divide her off from the rest of the flock and she gets her own food and water. This way the chicks can hatch and thrive for a while before joining the flock. Up in Wisconsin, the Autumn is colder than usual and we have been known to get snow in October so I personally wouldn't let a broody hatch any now but I don't know what state you are in or the weather this time of year where you are at.

 

[Aapomp831]

I took my broody hen and moved her and the eggs to dog house that I made a small fence around... it was in the run so she was still safe from predators. Some people say hens shouldn’t be moved once they start brooding but that has never been my experience... mine always end up wanting to brood in the nesting box and that’s simply just not an option. I would wear gloves though (a broody hen is a nasty hen) and maybe wait until dark. Then all you need to do is let her be... provide food and water and enough space for her to leave the doghouse once or twice a day to eat, drink and poop. On the 18th day, about 3 days before hatch, I put chick food and water in the dog house that a baby chick can easily get to but not drown in (mom can eat chick food at this time, there is no need to provide layer feed as she is not laying and won’t be until she weans the chick - plus the extra protein is good as broody hens always molt after hatching chicks).
Mom will do everything - she will turn the eggs and know when they need a cool down - this will be when she leaves the nest to do her business. Even if the eggs get cold in her brief absence (mine would leave her eggs for over an hour at a time, they would get cold, and still a successful hatch). She will also teach the chicks how to eat and drink and keep them warm through chilly nights. All you have to do is provide food, water, and shelter. Mom will do everything else.

 

[DobieLover]

So we have a super broody hen. My friend has offered to give us some fertilized eggs for her to sit in but I don't know much about egg hatching. Currently she is brooding up in our coop (our chicken run is under the coop). Is it alright if she just has the fertilized eggs up there? Do I need to put a nesting box up there or should she be moved to the run below? The entire thing is enclosed so I am not worried about her safety but I want her to be warm and comfortable. Also, she seems to brood in the same area. Do hens get attached to a spot and if I move her, will she abandon the eggs? I just wondered about moving her below because once the chicks hatch I wasn't sure what would stop them from falling to their death if they were up in the coop! Thanks for any tips you can give! I'd love to get a few sweet little chicks out of this deal!

How large is your coop? It sounds like one of those little pre-fab coops. You need to have room for the new chicks and a plan for what you are going to do with the cockerels that hatch.

Moving a broody to a more appropriate location to sit can break her. She should sit in a ground nest that is secure from the elements and predators where she will be left alone for the most part by the rest of the flock. If other hens will have access to the nest, the broody's eggs need to be marked and the nest inspected daily to remove errant eggs.

If you are determined to do this, I would move her now so she can graft to the new nest site on fake eggs. Once she routinely goes back to the new nest site after her daily broody breaks, you can give her the fertile eggs and let her start incubating.

Think carefully about how much space you have in your setup for the current flock and the new chicks.

The entire flock should be switched over to something like Flock Raiser or All Flock with oyster shell on the side so that the broody can feed her chicks and the chicks can grow up on something that does not contain the excess calcium that only an active layer requires. This is how I feed my flock always.

 

[black_cat]

Pictures of your coop would help as well.