Can I move broody before I give her hatching egg?

marlene

Songster
8 Years
Aug 17, 2011
659
8
128
UK
I have a broody that I am going to give some hatching eggs to.
My question is can I move her to a more secure area away from the others hens? And if so should move her before or after I give her the eggs?
Where she is now is too high and I am sure not safe for chicks as they could fall out.
Could I break her brooding if I move her? I have eggs coming on Tuesday so want her to brood.
Also if I do move her and she keeps returning to the same nest, is there anything can do to keep her in the new nest?
 
I have a broody that I am going to give some hatching eggs to.
My question is can I move her to a more secure area away from the others hens? And if so should move her before or after I give her the eggs?
Where she is now is too high and I am sure not safe for chicks as they could fall out.
Could I break her brooding if I move her? I have eggs coming on Tuesday so want her to brood.
Also if I do move her and she keeps returning to the same nest, is there anything can do to keep her in the new nest?
Greetings from the Colonies. While someone may say that they did what you're thinking about doing and it all went well, in reality your hen has already decided to set in the nest were she is now, and moving her very well may mean that she will quit the nest.

If however she is sitting in a movable nest box with a roof on it, you can likely be able to move her, just do so after FULL Sundown, pick up THE NESTBOX, THE HEN, THE EGGS, & THE BEDDING and ALL of them at one time and then GENTLY MOVE EVERYTHING to a new location so that the hen can hopefully wake up in the morning without realizing that she has ever been moved.

If hens forgot the location of their nest so easy that you could move them around from place to place like the queen on a chest board, then no hen would ever stay on the nest for the full 24 days it takes for the chicks to incubate, pip, hatch, dry off, and get their strength back before taking off to follow their momma.
 
Last edited:
As long as she is unlikely to be disturbed by other hen's wanting to lay in the same nest, I'd suggest leaving her. You can move her to ground level once the chicks have hatched. I deliberately put my broody on a shelf in my coop that is 5ft high and then bring her to ground level with her chicks.

Marking your fertile eggs is a good idea in case another hen lays in her nest.
 
She is in with 4 other hens and they do lay in that nest, I suppose I will mark the hatching eggs that I give her.
My worry is the other hens getting to the hatched chicks before they all hatch out and I can move her.
 
She is in with 4 other hens and they do lay in that nest, I suppose I will mark the hatching eggs that I give her.
My worry is the other hens getting to the hatched chicks before they all hatch out and I can move her.


I would imagine that momma will peck the living day lights out of any hen that approached her once the chicks are hatched.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom