I'm sure the answers to my questions are here somewhere, but I've searched and searched and can't find them.
We let our broody hen sit on two eggs. This is our first time hatching, and of course I didn't write down the day the eggs were laid or the expected hatch day. I thought the big day was to be August 14, which is a weekend so we'd be around and keeping a close eye, but when I candled the eggs today they look like they're further along and might go mid-week.
Our nesting boxes are about 10x12 and two feet off the ground. I'm concerned that if the eggs hatch while we're at work the chicks will either be squat by the hen or fall out of the box.
My questions are:
Should we move hen and eggs to a safer location at ground level or leave them be?
Will confining miss broody in a safer location for the chicks drive her mad, especially if it's too soon? She leaves the nest daily for eats, drinks, baths, etc.
We let our broody hen sit on two eggs. This is our first time hatching, and of course I didn't write down the day the eggs were laid or the expected hatch day. I thought the big day was to be August 14, which is a weekend so we'd be around and keeping a close eye, but when I candled the eggs today they look like they're further along and might go mid-week.
Our nesting boxes are about 10x12 and two feet off the ground. I'm concerned that if the eggs hatch while we're at work the chicks will either be squat by the hen or fall out of the box.
My questions are:
Should we move hen and eggs to a safer location at ground level or leave them be?
Will confining miss broody in a safer location for the chicks drive her mad, especially if it's too soon? She leaves the nest daily for eats, drinks, baths, etc.