Broody ?

[Leslie10481]

Hello BYC
I’m looking for some advise.
I have a 7 month old Buff Orpington that has been broody for a little over a week.
I do not have a rooster but I have collected some fertilized eggs from friends/family & have given them to her. Should I separate her from the rest of the flock? Seems like my other girls are climbing on top of her to lay their eggs in her box. I’m having to go on an Easter egg hunt every afternoon. Is this normal? Will it stress her out if I separate her?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It would be a good idea to separate her.

 

[aart]

I like to separate them, easier to manage with not having to have the other birds messing with the broody and her nest, marking the 'good' eggs so you can remove the freshly laid eggs, and having the broody go to the wrong nest after her daily constitutional.

But it's best to do so before you give them fertile eggs.
They can get pretty upset at being moved, they may not settle back onto a nest for a day or so, and it may actually break their broodiness.
I move them to their broody area with nest and some fake eggs, wait for them to settle back in then give fresh fertile eggs.

You can try to move her now, but risk losing the already started embryos.
Or is there any way to block off the nest she's in from the other birds?
Pics of your setup might garner some suggestions.

 

[alexa009]

I wouldn't keep her in a nesting box that the other hens have access to (especially if they are trying to push her out.) This will usually provoke fighting in the nesting box causing one of the hens to break the other eggs. This same experience happened to me on day 21.

 

[Leslie10481]

I like to separate them, easier to manage with not having to have the other birds messing with the broody and her nest, marking the 'good' eggs so you can remove the freshly laid eggs, and having the broody go to the wrong nest after her daily constitutional.

But it's best to do so before you give them fertile eggs.
They can get pretty upset at being moved, they may not settle back onto a nest for a day or so, and it may actually break their broodiness.
I move them to their broody area with nest and some fake eggs, wait for them to settle back in then give fresh fertile eggs.

You can try to move her now, but risk losing the already started embryos.
Or is there any way to block off the nest she's in from the other birds?
Pics of your setup might garner some suggestions.

Thank you so much for your advise.
I use 18 gallon totes for nesting boxes.
I ended up putting some hardware cloth in the surrounding area to give her own space. I’ll try to upload pics tmrw.

 

[Leslie10481]

I wouldn't keep her in a nesting box that the other hens have access to (especially if they are trying to push her out.) This will usually provoke fighting in the nesting box causing one of the hens to break the other eggs. This same experience happened to me on day 21.

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. I left her in her own box but separated her from the rest. I’m hoping all goes well. Thanks for your advise.

 

[alexa009]

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. I left her in her own box but separated her from the rest. I’m hoping all goes well. Thanks for your advise.

I'm glad to hear she is separated! I am sure it will work better this way!