Cold temp broody's?

[wrathsfarm]

I've had good luck moving broodys before hatch but I always move her with the nest box she's in. If I can't move the nest box, I wait til she comes off the nest with the babies and redirect her to the brooder already set up.
I've never tried moving just the eggs to another location.

Photo shows 2 brooders separated by a sheet of removable plexiglass you can kind of see thru the door on right.

 

[aart]

I've moved a broody, but I move her before she's set long and before I give her fresh fertile eggs.

 

[PhantomSlayer]

Personally, I have never had luck moving a broody hen. But I don't lock mine in. It think it would be easier in my set up to create a new place for the layers to lay. But I have rather small nests - one bird per nest, and I just mark my eggs - check them twice a week, and other than that - let her do it her way.

Others are much more hands on. However, I tried moving a broody twice, she escaped and went back to where she thought the best nest was.

Mrs K

Our nesting boxes are storage totes. We have 8 hens for 2 storage totes. I left them mobile so I can easily dump them cause occasionally an egg gets broken so they end up needing clean. I'll move the whole box with her and the eggs inside. So shes might not feel the need to escape hopefully lol The girls who are still laying are fighting with the broodys to take the nests so I wan't to get them moved over so they dont have to fight with the laying girls. Plus our roo keeps giving me the stare down for trying to remove unmarked eggs and making his girls angry so I would like to be able to be hands off lol

 

[PhantomSlayer]

I've had good luck moving broodys before hatch but I always move her with the nest box she's in. If I can't move the nest box, I wait til she comes off the nest with the babies and redirect her to the brooder already set up.
I've never tried moving just the eggs to another location.

Photo shows 2 brooders separated by a sheet of removable plexiglass you can kind of see thru the door on right.
View attachment 3950004

Yeah moving a broody hen to a new nest didn't work for me. I tried last time our resident broody was broody. So thats why I'm leaving them in our good nesting boxes this time around.

 

[K0k0shka]

Do you have any compelling, pressing reasons why you'd want her to hatch chicks now, as opposed to in the spring? It would be so much more practical, easier, and more pleasant for everybody involved if the chicks hatched in the spring, with good weather ahead for them to enjoy as they feather out and grow. So what's the rush? I wouldn't do it. I have broodies keep trying well into fall, but I break them. Springtime is so much better all around.

 

[Vicker]

I've got notoriously broody hens, but they always wait until it warms up in spring to start, even when we have milder winters. I don't let them hatch a brood every time, either. I would probably break their spell rather than let them hatch a clutch in winter.

 

[Love Donkeys]

I've moved broody hen and her clutch of eggs successfully. During the day I make a nest for her in our walk-in coop sick bay. I use a tote on its side with a small piece of 2x4 laying flat under the totes front lip. The flat 2x4 under the front will cause the tote to have a slight tilt to the back which will prevent the eggs from rolling out....

When it's dark I will come into the coop, move the marked eggs first then the broody hen. When the marked eggs are moved I try to keep them in the same position the hen had them in. When the hen wakes up she is facing the same way she was when she went to sleep. Her food and water is right in front of her and her eggs are in the same position under her. As far as she is concerned everything was all right in her world....

When our farm was located in the "snow belt" of Upstate NY we had a hen (who I thought had died) show up at the coop with 6 chicks. She came trudging through the snow with her chicks scrambling behind her. The only problem I had was with the water freezing almost instantly. She didn't seem mind she brought the chicks out and they pecked the snow. I believe I was more worried about the chicks than the hen was.....

 

[Mrs. K]

When our farm was located in the "snow belt" of Upstate NY we had a hen (who I thought had died) show up at the coop with 6 chicks. She came trudging through the snow with her chicks scrambling behind her. The only problem I had was with the water freezing almost instantly. She didn't seem mind she brought the chicks out and they pecked the snow. I believe I was more worried about the chicks than the hen was.....

Yes, I worried about water, feed and them being warm enough, but when I looked at them, they were scampering, active, bright eyed and became successful hens.

Sometimes, in an effort to be kind, we cause more problems.

 

[PhantomSlayer]

I'm just letting whatever happens happen. I've tried breaking a broody before and I'm just not in the situation to go through that battle only to fail because I know atleast #2 girl Nox is STUBBORN! I've been wanting more pullets anyways though wasn't to keen on them coming from our Roo lol But oh well.

I realize that hatching and raising babies is usually in their instincts so I'm planning on being as hands off as possible. I'll probably do candling at 2 weeks just to get rid of the undeveloped eggs and probably unstack the totes toward the day 18-20 mark so any chicks that hatch wont fall out from the top one. After that I'll just go based on gut feeling on whatever happens after that lol.

I've done alot of reading on hatching with broodies. I just wasn't sure about late year hatchings and BA specifics. The plan is to keep them apart from the flock for as long as possible. I doubt the girls will accept more than a week lol But there may be a girl or two I don't trust lol. 1 girl for sure will probably help the mama's if she can. Shes showing alot of interest in the fact that their being broody behind the mesh. But shes actually proven being a non threat with our geese when they were goslings. So I just wanna make sure the chicks are strong enough to escape. I know mama's will protect them but that just in case scenario lol.

 

[Mrs. K]

Everyone does this differently. I used to go to elaborate ways to keep them separate and really it turned out to be only extra unappreciated work for me.

Granted I have space, and I frequently hatch a few. And I do not count my chicks until they hatch.

What you need to consider is once they dry off, they are strong. Strong enough to be mailed somewhere. Until they dry off, they are under the hen.

Their movement under the hen flips the broody hormone from passive sitting into high alert. The older the chicks become, the weaker this hormone is. A lot of people separate them for their protection but really you don’t need to. People get into a wreck, keeping them separate from the flock, and then trying to put them in as strangers into the flock.

Anymore, all I do is put fresh bedding in the coop day 18-19. Everyone says 21 days, but often mine hatch a bit before that. The fresh bedding will allow her to leave the nest and make a clean nest.

Leaving her alone to do it her way actually works pretty good.