Day 19 "Need advice on crazy broody hen"I HAVE A CHICK!!!*PIC ADDED*

[Cabe]

OK, I have a "wild" white black tailed jap(born at the feed store with very little human contact) who is sitting on 6 eggs which are due to hatch on Sunday. I tried to move her to a crate a couple of days ago but the second I opened the door to give her some water she was out of there. So I moved the nest and eggs back into the coop where she luckily got right back on them ( I was scared I freaked her out, and she wouldn't get back on the nest). SO, she is now in one of the nest boxes which are about two feet off the ground, my I'm afraid that when the chicks hatch they might fall to the bottom of the coop and hurt themselves or worse one of my standard size hens will attack them. I have never hatched eggs before so I guess I need to know if the chicks will stay close to her or will they wonder off?
I'm to scared to move the nest to the floor because I don't know if she will sit on it there. I have put a camera in the nest box so I can keep an eye on her but I'm worried they will hatch and I won't be able to catch them before they take the leap.

Also, should I take them from her? She is the only bantam in that coop and at the very bottom of the pecking order.

Any advice on what to do would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I have a Chick:
<a href="http://s257.photobucket.com/albums/hh240/cabe11/?action=view&current=102_1188.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh240/cabe11/102_1188.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Your going to have to keep an eye on when they hatch...they will fall off the nestbox and not be able to get back up to her...as soon as they hatch I would either take them or catch her and them.. place them someplace safe where she can rear them....if you take them you will have to have a brooder setup with heatlamp and food and water...

 

[Cabe]

I was afraid that they would. It would be easier if she wasn't the wildest thing I own (well other than my 9 yr old son). I have all I would need to take them from her I just moved 14 chicks out to their new coop. I thought about moving her and the new chick in to the new coop with the 5 week olds, but she freaks out if she isn't in there with the other hens.

Once they hatch I should probably move them anyway.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[BroodyExpert101]

Try to remove her from the nest at night and put her inside a broody box. Make sure that it is dark so that just in case she wakes up while you're moving her, she'll go right back to sleep. If she starts to flap her wings during the operation, put her back into the original nesting box until morning. If you see her taking a break outside the nesting box, try to put a piece of cardboard at the bottom of her nest with the litter and eggs on top .
that same day, once she's back on the nest, take the piece of cardboard that you put at the bottom of the nest earlier and relocate the hen into the broody box.

Good luck,

BE101

 

[airmom1c05]

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Broody-Hens-1.html

Have you read this before? This is where I learned about broody hens. Sorry if I've already sent this to you. I send it to EVERYBODY I see on here with broody questions.

 

[Cabe]

Thanks so much for all the advice, she is just so flighty I can't even get close to her at night. I will keep a very close eye on her tonight and tomorrow if anything happens I'll let ya'll know.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi!
Sometimes even in the middle of the night, a broody hen won't cooperate. I've moved many of them to 'separate spaces' that abandoned the eggs as soon as they were turned loose in the morning and went back to where 'the eggs used to be' and set again.
Some hens seem to be keyed on 'the eggs' and some are keyed on 'that space where they are setting'.

Unless you just want more flighty / wild birds, I'd suggest taking the chicks as they hatch and hand-raising them and really work at socializing them.
I have a brooder of 15 EE/Araucana cross chicks from that were jumping out of the brooder at 4 days old when I'd put my hand in. Their mother is wild as a banshee and their dad is a 'gone-wild' Araucana.
I brought the chicks in to brood as they hatched so they didn't get imprinted by the hen.
But they DO have the wild/flighty gene, as in they are flighty, and wild. Wild or not, they'll lay pretty blue eggs.

What was the question?
Answer:
When the chicks are hatched, move them to a brooder as they hatch and hand-raise them.
Lisa

 

[tnkinhunting]

I agree with Lisa, take them away from her. If she is that flighty, she could hurt them.

 

[Cabe]

It's after midnight and I have been sitting out in my husband shop all evening watching the camera and finally A CHICK (lt.brown leghorn xsilver laced wyandotte)SOOOOO cute. I took it from that crazy hen and brought it in the house, it never made a sound until I brought it in and now..... I'm sure I won't get any sleep for all the chirpinge

Now I'll have to keep checking for more babies

 

[Zookeeper9000]

Congrats on your baby