Help - Questions - First time with a broody hen

[mrsgibber]

My little Belgian Quail Antwerp is broody for the second time in less than a month. We don't have a roo so the first time we broke her of it after trying to for two days. She went broody again Sunday so I was able to get a hold of some fertilized eggs. I put them under her last night and she stayed with them all night.

She did however get up this morning and eat, drink and hang out outside for about 10 -15 minutes max before going back to the eggs. Is that a normal amount of time for them to leave their eggs?

I have another problem because my other hens like the same nest box she is using and I believe will lay with her in there. I don't know how to stop them from doing this so they don't disturb her. I think she almost doesn't mind cause she takes their eggs under her as well....though she has six under her already, I don't think she could fit any more!!

Any tips would be appreciated too!

Thanks!

 

[KellyHM]

It's normal for a hen to get up once or twice a day to eat, drink, dust bathe, etc. If you have other hens laying in the same nest box she will likely get up to handle her business while one of them is in the box laying. You need to mark the eggs you want her to have with a sharpie, then clean out the new eggs every day. Otherwise she'll end up with too many and won't keep the ones you want to hatch covered well. You should move her or section her off a little before hatch time so the other girls can't pick at the chicks.

 

[mrsgibber]

Awesome! Thank you. My kids were upset this morning thinking she decided not to be a mommy after all.

I will have to get creative about separating her from the other big girls since it's such a small coop.

 

[TXmom]

You definitely need to separate her from the other hens. My other chickens will not leave my broody alone...they push her off the nest to lay their eggs in her spot, and they've even crushed one of her eggs. Also, even though I thought I had moved her to a safe cage in the coop, 2 of her newly hatched chicks disappeared shortly after hatching. I think they were so small they could get through the slats in the cage, and were eaten by the big chickens.

So...the best thing to do is put her in a very safe cage...it can be on the floor of the coop as long as the babies can NOT get out through the wires/holes/slats in the cage.

My Silkie just went broody again, and we actually moved her to a completely separate 4'x8' "broody house". It used to be a small goat house, but we don't have the goats any more. She's all by herself in there with plenty of room for her to get up and eat, drink and poop, then go back to her eggs. Also, when the babies hatch, they can safely run around until they're big enough to go outside in the yard.

 

[mrsgibber]

Oh boy, I have to figure this one out. All I have to move them to is a large dog kennel I used as a brooder last year in the house.

Anyone have suggestions for a quick fix? My coop is too small to set up a separate section for her in.

How soon would I be able to tell if she has chicks actually growing in those eggs?

 

[KellyHM]

A dog kennel will work just fine. You can put wire mesh around the bottom 6" so the chicks can't get out.

 

[mrsgibber]

I did discuss that with hubby last night and we are going to use the kennel. All I have to do is cover it to keep the rain out and add some hardware cloth around so the big girls can't get to where they will be.

I'm so excited! I hope she can do it. We have some Silkie eggs under her and that is exactly what I had planned to order from the hatchery.

 

[lauraj2]

One of my hens is broody as well and lots of my questions got answered here! I need to section my hen off as well, cuz now all the other girls just have to lay in THAT box, although there are 2 other perfectly good nesting boxes. There is also fighting going on out there, and I have been finding eggs laying out on the ground. That never has happened before. I already have a "separating" problem because I have a hen with a prolapse that I am babying along and need to keep her away from the rest of the girls. Im thinking of something like a wire cage within the pen with her own nesting box, food and water. Will the chicks integrate into the flock after a while? Thanks for any help!

 

[toyzbox]

I have the same problem. We found a small dog pen on craigs list and put it in the run. We'll move about momma tonight after we set up a dog carrier for her. We have a mesh tarp over the pen for shade. I'm not sure if it's O.K. weather wise since the carrier can keep them out of any rain???

 

[lauraj2]

I'm not sure about the dog carrier? Will it keep out the rain? I think I am going to get a dog kennel or small cage today and put it right out in the chicken pen, then she'll be safe from preditors and the other chickens. My hen has stopped laying and really wants to set, but there is so much "drama" and fighting out there! I am going to move her tonight and sneak some of my other hen's eggs under her. Fresh ones from today and maybe a couple from tomorrow. Thanks all for the help!