help question on broody hatching?

[scooby]

I have a hen and its day 21 i'v checked several times today and nothing, no peeping or pipping......question is i just built a "broody tractor" the other day and i was hoping to get her in it before they hatched, she just came out for her "break" so with it being hatching day or so close do i dare move her and the eggs?will it hurt the eggs? i have moved her to different nest boxes cause my other girls where laying on top her and she took to it just fine. and she is still collecting eggs. and now i dont know which is which at this point out of the 4 that she started with i know 2 developed from candling them. so what do i do?any one have any suggestions, thanks..

 

[HEChicken]

My tendency would be not to move her at this late stage because I wouldn't want to take the risk.

 

[skillswife]

Don't move her this late. I tried that and the broody rejected the nest

 

[scooby]

so could i move her the day they hatch?, the reason i wanted to move her is, this is mine and hers first broody experience and a couple of my other girls tend to be real mean when i add new chicks so i am worried they will be violent and i dont know how protective she will be since it is her first time. or if my other girls will be more relaxed since it is a broody hatch and not me putting new 12 week olds in.

 

[skillswife]

Is there a way you could sort of fence her nest box off so the others couldn't get to it in the mean time? I guess if you are really worried you could try moving her, but I would be pretty nervous.

 

[scooby]

i cant just fence off the one she is in if i did that i would have to block them all. so would it be less harmful to move them after they are all hatched? or is there a chance she might abandon them and go to the original nest without them, do they ever do that? maybe i am just over fretting about this and the other girls will be fine but i have a little leghorn that is particularly mean to the newbies, i put my new batch of 5 in like 2 1/2 months ago and they ( but leghorn in particular) still will not let them eat or drink or go into the coop till after dark or sit in the shade or on the back porch, rips out there feathers every chance she gets, she is awful to them and literally terrorizes them just to do it for kicks i think. and the sad part is she is smaller then the newbies. anyways am i over worrying about this, mother is a jersey are they known to be very protective?

 

[HEChicken]

Sorry, I wish I were more knowledgeable but I currently have my first broody too and she is only on day 3 with her eggs so I still have a ways to go. What you are describing about integrating new chicks into a flock of older girls sounds perfectly normal. My flock free-ranges, but I do have a small A-Frame coop and run, that I typically use as a grow out coop until the chicks are old enough to integrate with the flock. Now I am using it for my broody hen so she is confined for the first time since she was a chick herself. Just this morning DH asked what my plan is after the chicks hatch and I told him I'm basically winging it. I will *probably* leave Mama Hen and chicks in the A-Frame for the first few days, where they can have a chick waterer and feeder and be able to eat and drink without being bothered by the big girls. Also, this eliminates the risk of the chicks drowning in the huge water bowl the older girls use. I will play it by ear as to when they are allowed out with the flock. I'm counting on Mama to protect her chicks from the others but will certainly be watching closely the first time they are out and ready to put them back in the A-Frame if it seems necessary. My broody is a BSL and I've never had a JG so can't answer on the temperament or maternal instincts of your girl.