@Pastel The Rooster Said:
I am late to the conversation on your broody girl but if you catch this in the morning here are a few suggestions.
If she is currently sitting in the coop there is a simple cheap solution that may help you this time around. Find yourself a Rubbermaid tote. Flip it over and cut a entry hole and set it on top of your girl. I have found most girls will not take too kindly to moving them from their chosen spot. She is going to need to get up anyway tomorrow, take a basket, bowl or egg carton out with you and gather those eggs from her and bring them in to candle and mark them. Decide how many eggs you want her to hatch out, if she is a big girl she can probably cover 12 to 15 fairly decent sized eggs. A smaller girl, 8 or so good eggs. I would personally let her have at least 4 back if you have 4 viable eggs so you do not risk a single chick. Put the chosen eggs where you found them, let her come back to them and plop the tote on top of her. Now block the entrance with something....anything so another hen can not get in to disturb her and lay in her nest as she will want to keep that extra egg. Until she hatches once a day go out and remove her from the nest to make sure she eats, drinks and poops then let her go back and block the entrance again. When the chicks start hatching add a small dish of chick starter and a shallow dish of water inside the tote close to her as she may not want to immediately bring them off the nest for the first day or so. When she is ready to leave the nest with the chicks let her, she will defend them from the other flock members and they will very quickly learn not to mess with the chicks. From there all you will have to do is let her and her brood out in the morning and round them up and put them back in the tote at night.
I am late to the conversation on your broody girl but if you catch this in the morning here are a few suggestions.
If she is currently sitting in the coop there is a simple cheap solution that may help you this time around. Find yourself a Rubbermaid tote. Flip it over and cut a entry hole and set it on top of your girl. I have found most girls will not take too kindly to moving them from their chosen spot. She is going to need to get up anyway tomorrow, take a basket, bowl or egg carton out with you and gather those eggs from her and bring them in to candle and mark them. Decide how many eggs you want her to hatch out, if she is a big girl she can probably cover 12 to 15 fairly decent sized eggs. A smaller girl, 8 or so good eggs. I would personally let her have at least 4 back if you have 4 viable eggs so you do not risk a single chick. Put the chosen eggs where you found them, let her come back to them and plop the tote on top of her. Now block the entrance with something....anything so another hen can not get in to disturb her and lay in her nest as she will want to keep that extra egg. Until she hatches once a day go out and remove her from the nest to make sure she eats, drinks and poops then let her go back and block the entrance again. When the chicks start hatching add a small dish of chick starter and a shallow dish of water inside the tote close to her as she may not want to immediately bring them off the nest for the first day or so. When she is ready to leave the nest with the chicks let her, she will defend them from the other flock members and they will very quickly learn not to mess with the chicks. From there all you will have to do is let her and her brood out in the morning and round them up and put them back in the tote at night.
