Broody sitting on 8 eggs since April 8th. When should I move her?

[ShaggysGirl]

Hi guys,
She is high 2 row from top, 3rd nest bow over. I worry the chicks will fall out if I leave them there.
I have a dog crate in the coop and I'm planning on putting chicken wire around it so the chicks can't hop out. I figured there the flock will get to know the chicks.
Should I move her now or wait till later or after the chicks hatch?
When mama and chicks are in the crate should I have the door open so mama can go out?
Any other tips for dealing with broodies?
She is a 7 month old Cochin on EE eggs. EE Roo in that coop and hens are EE, BO, CM and of course cochin

I candled 4 of the 8 eggs the other day and they are fertile

Thanks
Rhonda
edited to add pic of nest she is in

 

[chicks4kids]

I would move her as soon as possible. You don't want to disrupt her later on in the incubation--sooner the better. Leave the crate door open with an area fenced in so she can poo, eat and drink and not worry about other hens getting in there-but they're tricky, they could hop over your fence so make sure there's some sort of top so they can't. I went out everyday and gave mine a potty break. I also gave her food and water daily while she sat on her eggs just to make sure she was getting enough food and most importantly water...it worked, this morning I woke up to 3 little babies.

Good luck with your hatch!

 

[ShaggysGirl]

Thanks Chicks4kids, I'll get her lil crate set up this week then and get her booty in there.

 

[Gonda]

I am new at this but just went through the broody hen experience for the first time and have 4 chicks a week old today. I had put the mom in an enclosure while she was sitting on the nest (moved her at the beginning, when I put eggs under her). Four out of 5 hatched and they were happy to stay in the enclosure (in the coop) for a week. For the most part, the mama sat on the chicks and they came out to eat and drink. I have a container of feed for the mom and feed and water dispensers for the chicks in the enclosed area. Yesterday, after 6 days, the mom was getting restless and was knocking the feed over, and then I discovered that the chicks had found escape routes and were running around in the coop and no one was bothering them. So I opened the door a bit so they could all could in and out, and next thing I knew the mom and chicks were outside with the others. It is so neat to see how she protects them. No one can bother her chicks or they're met with a mom with ruffled feathers. The mom has had a few run ins with the other hens, but the RIR rooster steps in and just stands there and the other hens leave mom alone. So all in all, it's a very nice experience.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Yes, I would move her as soon as you can. I remember my very first broody many, many years ago. I didn't move her from her nesting box immediately. When I finally decided to move her about 2 weeks later, I was shocked to find at least 30 eggs under her and I didn't knokw what eggs were hers and what eggs belonged to the other hens that had flew into her nesting box to lay eggs. It was a nightmare trying to hatch out a staggered hatch. I will never do that again. As soon as they go broody, I move them in to their own little private apartment. It has been working out ever since. Good luck.

 

[ShaggysGirl]

That is too cool Gonda. I can't wait to see how ours will do.

Kuntrygirl, I bet that was a pain. I marked the eggs the second day she was sitting and we've been removing and extras that find their way in

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
That's a great idea. I didn't think about marking the eggs. Cool. I can leave her in her nesting box and just mark the eggs. Thanks for a great idea. I will do that from now on. I'm glad that you posted a comment.

 

[ShaggysGirl]

Yep, I just used a marker, pulled out each egg and put a small x on one end

Mama fussed a little but not much.