Hen Setting outside should I move her

[louis346789]

Hello
am new to forum and to keeping hens. have six hens and rooster. have a good sized coop 8'x8'x6' high and plenty of outdoor area for foraging.

I now have a hen setting about six eggs. problem is she is outdoors under a thick hedge. She is partly hidden but I am worried about a few things.

Outside temp range is 13 to 20 degrees centergrade. is it too cold.

rodents

what about chicks when they hatch. I intend moving them into seperate section of coop.
Help please

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I would just build a small pen around her to keep the predators away.

 

[louis346789]

Hi Thanks for response

I could manage a chicken wire surround with some effort

you would see no problem with air temp ?

louis

 

[eggsrcool]

I wouldn't see any problems. I used to have a sebright which roosted outside at night and it was winter in England, so it got pretty cold. It can regulate its own temperature

 

[Judy]

I agree that temp won't be a problem. However, she may get harassed by other hens, and they may try to lay eggs to add to her clutch. If you don't separate her, mark the eggs so you know which are for hatching.

I did not separate my broody and chicks from the flock, and they did fine. She protected the chicks from the others, as they should. Saves integration problems later. I did put her in an old wire dog cage before the chicks hatched, and let her out once a day to eat, drink and poop.

 

[Marlinchaser]

I would say move her, not knowing where you are, I will assume you have preditors that would like a sitting hen as a midnight snack, and chicken wire will only slow them down a little bit, be on the safe side and move her unless you are willing to loose her.

Not sure about the temps 50 to 68 F that will not be a problem for a hen to keep eggs warm in.

 

[eggsrcool]

Quote:
I agree. Move her, but make sure she doesn't keep off the eggs for more than 10-20 mins. You may want to lock her inside with no place to go but side down. Hope it all works well