Broody since Feb…

[Shadrach]

This is brilliant advice thanks ever so. I’ve just this second added more hay… and will weight her to gauge any loss. Much appreciate the time taken to reply!

I think you may need to do a bit more than that. The hen is likely to chuck the extra you've added away from the nest site.
Ideally you need to create a wall of some kind between the nest and the rest of the coop to prevent this.

 

[Shadrach]

What I would do is make a wooden box with the sides four inches high and pack that with straw. A twelve inch by twelve inch box should be fine. Place that in the coop in the place she is sitting. I know this can be done with the omelet coops because my sister has a similar model and this is what she has done with her broody hens.

 

[kirschev]

What I would do is make a wooden box with the sides four inches high and pack that with straw. A twelve inch by twelve inch box should be fine. Place that in the coop in the place she is sitting. I know this can be done with the omelet coops because my sister has a similar model and this is what she has done with her broody hens.

Does this look any good? No wooden box but I have put this in…hoping I’ve not disturbed her too much, she is looking confused! Hopefully an improvement tho?

 

[kirschev]

 

[kirschev]

Any chicks she hatched or is given need to be within a day or two at most. As long as she has been sitting I would take the first 2 or 3 chicks that hatch out to her when they are around 24 hours old. These chicks need to be all hatched with in a day of each other as well. It sounds like you are already staggering eggs in your incubator so if the eggs under her are developing put those in your incubator when you give her the chicks. Shipped eggs can often have issues. How are you handling the shipped eggs and staggered hatches that you are incubating?

Thank you, I’ll do that. At the moment only one egg in incubator looks viable, I brought some eggs that had been under her in, to incubate but no signs of development there. In terms of handling the shipped eggs, I haven’t let them settle or rest. Perhaps this is where I am going wrong? No method for staggering either really… but there will be a gap of at least a few days in between

 

[Shadrach]

Does this look any good? No wooden box but I have put this in…hoping I’ve not disturbed her too much, she is looking confused! Hopefully an improvement tho? View attachment 3465741

That looks much better.