Could I bring my two broody hens inside the house?

[Scifisarah]

I was silly and sold our incubator last year. Luckily I have two broody bantam cochins right now. I put them in a large dog crate, in nest boxes I made out of office max file boxes. I also put a divider between so they stay on their own side. Right now I have them on my back deck with a tarp over the top, but worry about predators. Do you think they would mind getting moved into our basement, or would the drastic change be too much for them? I don't want to shock them out of being broody, but I don't know - maybe they won't even care? I keep lights on all day for my parrot already, so they would not be in the dark. My eggs arrive in a few days from Lucky Pickens Farm, so I want to make sure my little incubators are all situated by then.

 

[Judy]

I would move the whole cage, at night, as gently as I could. You never know, but hopefully it will work.

 

[Lollipop]

Looks like a good strong settup, why not leave them on the porch? Gonna get real stinky with all that broody poop in your basement. You might also consider adding some newspaper to the floor, so it can be cleaned easily. If you wanna go a step farther for pred protection, wire the door shut, or put a padlock on it.........Pop

 

[redhen689]

I don't think you'd have to worry about preditors getting through that, although I've heard that raccoons can open latches. I've had a broody hen in a guinea pig cage without any problems with preditors. Same type set up, but a lot more flimsy than a dog crate.

 

[Scifisarah]

The bottom latch was undone this morning, but that could have been from my 2 or 3 year old and neither is fessing up. I will probably put two lanyard clips on it, just to be safe an plan on keeping them outside then if it looks sturdy enough to you all. I could also zip tie the tarp to the side better so they can't lift it up where the boxes are. We are going out of state for 4 days, but when we get back I will just let my collie dog sleep in the living room next to the sliding doors. She will let me know if there are any raccoons!

I don't think you'd have to worry about preditors getting through that, although I've heard that raccoons can open latches. I've had a broody hen in a guinea pig cage without any problems with preditors. Same type set up, but a lot more flimsy than a dog crate.