Gonna let her sit on eggs

[Harley Chick]

I have a Golden Laced Wyandotte that has gone broody. I have always wanted to hatch chicks and figured I'd try this year. I've ordered 8 polish eggs that will arrive early next week, at the latest Tuesday. Once I place the eggs under her, how long should I wait before I move her? I don't want to break her broodiness but the nest box is too high for chicks.

I'm also concerned if she is even leaving the nest at all? I work during the day so don't have the luxury of being able to see if she is drinking and eating? I check on her before I go to work, then after and she looks like she hasn't budged?

Any advice for a first timer?

 

[Hannahs_Hens]

This is just my experience but I also had a broody hen with a nest high up off the ground. Anyways I also wanted her to hatch chicks and we gave her fertilized eggs but when I tried to move her to a lower nest she was there no longer broody. If you don’t want to move her maybe you can just cover up the door closer to hatch day and let’s her hatch the chicks and then move her to a different nest lower on the ground. I hope that helps a little! Also I wouldn’t worry too much about not seeing her get off the nest. Usually they’re only off the nest for about an hour a day so if you don’t see it that’s perfectly fine they’re probably just getting off the nest when you’re not around to see it!

 

[Auntiejessi3]

@K0k0shka may be able to help you, best of luck with your hatch

 

[K0k0shka]

Of course it's when you want them to stay broody that any little disturbance can break them... as opposed to when you are actually trying to break them, seems like no amount of moving or jailing can snap them out of it

So I wouldn't risk moving her, if you want her to stay broody. The whole thing is just too fickle. Blocking the nest off to keep the chicks in is a good idea, but then the hen won't be able to go eat and drink. Unless the nest is big enough to fit food and water? Or if there's an adjacent nest and you can take out the divider between the two, to make the space bigger and then put food and water in there? If you only have two nests (like I do), you can make a temporary nest out of something else (milk crate, cardboard box, etc) for the other hens to use, while the broody is occupying the other nests.

Or, alternatively, you can make a ramp for the chicks. A multi-level ramp can give you gentler slopes than a straight-down ramp would. My nest box isn't very high off the ground, but I made a two-level ramp just to make sure the chicks could get down. Here's what it looked like:

The chicken wire is where I divided the coop in two to keep the other hens away from the broody. I only did this after lockdown, so they wouldn't trample the chicks as they were hatching. My hens nest-share sometimes, and the others kept laying in her box as she was sitting, so I didn't want them doing that while chicks were actively hatching. When all the chicks had hatched and the broody had led them out of the box, I removed the divider and let her introduce them to the flock.

Don't make my mistake and use chicken wire for any kind of dividers though! I discovered the hard way that young chicks fit right through the holes. One of the broody's chicks slipped through but couldn't figure out how to get back, and was stranded without her mom on a 40-degree night. I discovered her accidentally when doing a late night check up, and put her back under her mom, but that would've ended tragically otherwise.

If you don't have enough room for a multi-level ramp, you could also make steps out of bricks, blocks or stumps, leading down from the nest. Little chicks can't jump up very high, but they can jump down much better. All they need is to get down, and once they're all down, you can remove the ramp/steps and give them a different nest or box to sleep in at ground level. They may or may not use it though. I left my ramp up and the chicks were capable of using it, and I also left a ground-level box with bedding in it. However, the broody liked neither, and slept on the floor of the coop instead, with the chicks under her.

 

[K0k0shka]

P.S. And don't worry about whether she gets off to eat and drink. She does. You don't need to take her out as some people do. She'll be fine. Just make sure food and water are close by so she doesn't have to go very far and forget she had a job to do

 

[SueT]

I moved my mama and chicks from a high nest right after hatching.

 

[Yardmom]

As others have said occasionally a break can happen when moving a broody, but if you do want to move her do it now so she is settled to the spot before the hatching eggs arrive. Put the current eggs in the new nest. You want to use a cage or something so she can not escape to the old nest. Then just make the swap when the hatching eggs arrive. If you decide to allow the flock access to her once she is settled remember to remove added eggs daily.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

(@Yardmom just now gave the same advice while i was typing, but will post this anyway, just to reinforce the advice)

Only one thing to add to the good options/suggestions u have already been given, IF u want to try and move your broody. I Always move my broodys to their own private, quiet, secure space. Before i move them, i give them 4-5 eggs to set on for 2-3 days. (Fertile eggs, but not the ones i will choose for them to hatch.) I Always move the broodys at night, along with their 4-5 eggs. First-time broodys sometimes will be off their eggs the next morn, frantically pacing to get back to their former spot. Almost always, they eventually settle back on their 4-5 eggs. (Experienced broodys dont sweat the move at all.) It doesnt matter if the eggs got too cold while a new broody was off them, since i will be replacing those 4-5 eggs with 10-12, once i know the broody is settled in her new space.

So if u still want to try and move your broody, you still have time to "test" her before the Polish eggs arrive. Give her a few eggs from your current flock. A few nights from now, move her to the brooding place you want her to be. Hopefully she will settle back on the eggs. Then when the polish eggs arrive, switch them out. If she refuses to settle at her new place by mid-day after the night you moved her, she probably wont adjust. Since you dont want her broody hormones to break, you can move her and eggs back to her former spot, & the follow good advice given in earlier posts.

 

[50-45-1]

Move your broody after darkness.
I use golf balls and fake eggs instead of wasting good edible eggs
Will she still be in an area that will be accessed by other hens?

 

[Harley Chick]

Of course it's when you want them to stay broody that any little disturbance can break them... as opposed to when you are actually trying to break them, seems like no amount of moving or jailing can snap them out of it

So I wouldn't risk moving her, if you want her to stay broody. The whole thing is just too fickle. Blocking the nest off to keep the chicks in is a good idea, but then the hen won't be able to go eat and drink. Unless the nest is big enough to fit food and water? Or if there's an adjacent nest and you can take out the divider between the two, to make the space bigger and then put food and water in there? If you only have two nests (like I do), you can make a temporary nest out of something else (milk crate, cardboard box, etc) for the other hens to use, while the broody is occupying the other nests.

Or, alternatively, you can make a ramp for the chicks. A multi-level ramp can give you gentler slopes than a straight-down ramp would. My nest box isn't very high off the ground, but I made a two-level ramp just to make sure the chicks could get down. Here's what it looked like:
View attachment 2702081

The chicken wire is where I divided the coop in two to keep the other hens away from the broody. I only did this after lockdown, so they wouldn't trample the chicks as they were hatching. My hens nest-share sometimes, and the others kept laying in her box as she was sitting, so I didn't want them doing that while chicks were actively hatching. When all the chicks had hatched and the broody had led them out of the box, I removed the divider and let her introduce them to the flock.

Don't make my mistake and use chicken wire for any kind of dividers though! I discovered the hard way that young chicks fit right through the holes. One of the broody's chicks slipped through but couldn't figure out how to get back, and was stranded without her mom on a 40-degree night. I discovered her accidentally when doing a late night check up, and put her back under her mom, but that would've ended tragically otherwise.

If you don't have enough room for a multi-level ramp, you could also make steps out of bricks, blocks or stumps, leading down from the nest. Little chicks can't jump up very high, but they can jump down much better. All they need is to get down, and once they're all down, you can remove the ramp/steps and give them a different nest or box to sleep in at ground level. They may or may not use it though. I left my ramp up and the chicks were capable of using it, and I also left a ground-level box with bedding in it. However, the broody liked neither, and slept on the floor of the coop instead, with the chicks under her.

Thank you so much for the info! First let me tell you how much I love your nest boxes. My boxes are slightly higher than yours and using bricks or a ramp is a great idea. I have the plastic one's that mount to the wall which I love because for some reason they seem to stay cleaner inside?

Ironically after voicing my concern that she wasn't leaving the box to eat and drink, she was out with the other girls when I got home from work. Then my first thought was "great" now she's not going to stay broody and I've got 6 eggs due to arrive in a few days!!! I watched her, her body language was different and she stayed close to the coop while the other girls free ranged. Well to my relief, later on she returned to her nest box and settled in.