Broody hen?

[pulletplayyard]

I have never had one of my hens go broody until now. She is in the coop nest box because i dont have anywhere else for her. What do i do if her eggs hatch? Where do i put her and/or her chicks?

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Can you put her in a dog create?

By the way welcome to BYC!

 

[pulletplayyard]

I thought about doing that but i am leaving for a 4th of July vacation soon and I'm not sure if she is going to stick to it and not give up. Do you think she will be okay for a few days in the coop until i get back? She has only been sitting for about 2 days.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Oh yeah. It takes eggs 21 days to hatch.

 

[bobbi-j]

She should be fine. I would mark her eggs so you know if any other hens are adding to her nest. When you do your daily egg check, just take any eggs that are not hers. Once they hatch, just let her raise them. Chickens have been hatching and raising chicks for centuries without our help. Your rooster should help protect her and the chicks once they're in with the flock. I usually separate my broody hens while they're setting (only because I have the room to do so, and that keeps the other hens out of the nests) then let them back in with the flock when the chicks are about a week old. I've seen my rooster get between the broody and another hen that wanted to push the broody around. He got after the other hen, chasing her out of the coop.