- Oct 13, 2008
- 1,020
- 281
- 329
I'd say no to moving her. That could end badly. Better to let her continue where she is.
But once the chick pips, you could also put up a makeshift barrier of some sort to prevent it falling out of the nest. Once the chick is hatched and dried, you can move them both safely out of the nest to wherever you please. It's not so much the fall that would concern me, as the stress and confusion for both mother and chick, as well as the danger of exposure, of having still-wet chicks falling out of the nest prematurely. With multiple eggs hatching, this can be a disaster, when the mother is forced to choose between protecting chicks on the floor and the ones still in the nest. With one egg, at least the hen won't be forced to divide her attentions and risk chick exposure, but it still could confuse her--chickens aren't all that clever when faced with unusual situations, and what makes perfect sense to you may baffle them (sometimes to their detriment). Then again, there might never be an issue at all, but if it were me, I'd feel better knowing I'd taken precautions--after all, it should be simple enough to tape something up...
Good luck with the hatching!
But once the chick pips, you could also put up a makeshift barrier of some sort to prevent it falling out of the nest. Once the chick is hatched and dried, you can move them both safely out of the nest to wherever you please. It's not so much the fall that would concern me, as the stress and confusion for both mother and chick, as well as the danger of exposure, of having still-wet chicks falling out of the nest prematurely. With multiple eggs hatching, this can be a disaster, when the mother is forced to choose between protecting chicks on the floor and the ones still in the nest. With one egg, at least the hen won't be forced to divide her attentions and risk chick exposure, but it still could confuse her--chickens aren't all that clever when faced with unusual situations, and what makes perfect sense to you may baffle them (sometimes to their detriment). Then again, there might never be an issue at all, but if it were me, I'd feel better knowing I'd taken precautions--after all, it should be simple enough to tape something up...
Good luck with the hatching!
