Good morning everyone! It has been a while since I've been on. We have a few of our girls that are all going broody at the same time. We have a total of 49 eggs that we have found the girls in the woods sitting on! They are happy and sassy as can be and since we have no idea when the eggs were laid we are allowing them to hatch them! So here are my quesitons. My husband is building a much large coupe for the upcoming new brood. BUT how do we get the girls transfered with their babies. Should we move the eggs or leave them? I'm concerned about predators in FL. And once this is done or the chicks hatch is there a way to get the girls to lay in the new extra large coupe? We have five acres of woods and apparently that is where they want to lay and we don't know when they are laying. We want to collect the eggs. Anyone? and Thank you!
I don't know how many broodies you have in how many different nests or how many eggs each has. Leaving them where they are does leave them vulnerable to predators but you have to assess that risk. If I were faced with this, I would find separate safe enclosures for each broody, where they can be locked in with their eggs, food, and water and have enough room to get off the nest and poop. I would make each one fairly dark. It does not have to be pitch black but bright light seems to discourage a moved broody. I'd move them at night well after they have settled in for the night and do it with as little light and commotion as you can. You may have some failures with the move, especially as they are not used to being confined. The reason I'd want a separate enclosure for each broody is that multiple broodies sometimes (not always but often enough for it to be a real concern) will kill each others chicks (thinking them a threat to their own, I guess) or one will try to take the chicks from another. Chicks can get hurt in these fights. Or they can get confused which nest they should be on if they have to choose. I'll include a link on isolating a broody that might contain something that could help you. Isolate a Broody? Thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=213218 The only way to teach the hens to lay in the new coop that I am aware of is to lock them in it for a week or so, until they get used to laying there. Even then, there is no guarantee they won't revert to old habits. You'll need to lock them in anyway until they think of this new coop as home so they will roost in there at night.
Thank you very much we have 10 hens and 3 roosters. They all live together in perfect harmony. We have 49 eggs and four different nests but we are not sure whose is whose!
