First time Broody keeper!

[Kfults]

i have a girl who has gone Broody a couple times past few months and I could break her easily, not this time! She is 100% committed! So I got 8 (hopefully fertile eggs) marked and placed under her! She is in the nest in the main coup which is pretty big 10x12 with 3 other nest boxes. She has been staying in and sleeping in nest for 3 days so far, I removed my eggs because my young cockerel is not fertilizing the eggs. He is meat bird and poor technique and I am finding only 1 in half dozen fertile. That is why I got eggs from another chicken keeper who has higher fertilizing rate. I am super excited but realize things could happen that don’t result in chicks, but I am keeping crosses for Christmas babies.

 

[Grits&Eggs]

how did you break her the first couple times? good luck with your christmas babies!

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

I suggest moving them to a separate coop. It doesn't work very well to have hens and chicks with the other flock, as the other chickens will sometimes pick on the chicks, plus there isn't any way to keep their feed separate.

 

[Kfults]

how did you break her the first couple times? good luck with your christmas babies!

I removed her from the nest and locked the coup so that she could not return to the nest ( after others finished laying) or I moved her to roost after dark.
This time nothing was working. I could have locked her in a raised cage but didn’t have the heart so I am gonna give her a chance at hatching babies

 

[Abriana]

You’ll have chicks for Christmas! Wouldn’t it be cool if they hatched Xmas day?

 

[Kfults]

I suggest moving them to a separate coop. It doesn't work very well to have hens and chicks with the other flock, as the other chickens will sometimes pick on the chicks, plus there isn't any way to keep their feed separate.

Once they hatch I have a pen within the coup for mom and chicks. I don’t want to move her nest and have her abandon the eggs or move to one of the other nests and start setting unfertile eggs. I want her to be able to still socialize when she takes her breaks.

 

[Kfults]

You’ll have chicks for Christmas! Wouldn’t it be cool if they hatched Xmas day?

I don’t think I would be able to contain myself!

 

[Abriana]

I don’t think I would be able to contain myself!

It’s so exciting to have a hen hatch chicks! I’ve done it a lot but I run as fast as I can still up to the house to tell my family about it just as enthusiastically as I did the first time! That first pip or when you hear the peeping is such an amazing moment. I wish you luck with these babies, may God bless them!

 

[Compost King]

a Broody hen is so much more rewarding than incubators and brooders. One of the main reasons why I bought dorking.

 

[SongBaby33]

How exciting i've had broody hens before