Hens taking turns sitting on eggs

[luvchickies]

Hello
We have our first flock of 14 chickens and recently some of our hens started laying eggs. We noticed that the hens are taking turns sitting on the eggs in the nesting box.
Our chicken coop is probably too high for chicks (4 feet tall). I was thinking of making our portable coop into a brooder and put it in a covered outdoor chicken run. Should we put both broody hens in? We were thinking of locking them in at night since we have raccoons and other predators. https://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Chickens-Poultry-Waterproof-Rabbits/dp/B0BTZ8LF7J/

 

[Debbie292d]

Hello
We have our first flock of 14 chickens and recently some of our hens started laying eggs. We noticed that the hens are taking turns sitting on the eggs in the nesting box.
Our chicken coop is probably too high for chicks (4 feet tall). I was thinking of making our portable coop into a brooder and put it in a covered outdoor chicken run. Should we put both broody hens in? We were thinking of locking them in at night since we have raccoons and other predators. https://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Chickens-Poultry-Waterproof-Rabbits/dp/B0BTZ8LF7J/

View attachment 3646598View attachment 3646615

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!!

I saw your ramp which moms would teach their chicks to go down. We have our nest boxes 4' high in the coop and it's cute as heck watching moms coach their little nuggets down the ramp but I started just moving mom, nest, eggs, and any that hatched to a box set sideways on the ground with a starter feeder and waterer for them. So yes, I would definitely get them into someplace lower.

I looked at your pen on Amazon and it seems good except those roofs never last long. I don't know what state you are in but here, the wind and snow would destroy it in one winter. You might want to protect the sides of your portable coop to keep drafts out but otherwise that should work. Otherwise, you could just put like a rabbit hutch, doghouse, or make a wooden box with an opening in it for in the new pen and that'd be their mini-coop inside of it.

 

[luvchickies]

We are in Florida so it's 90 degrees out now. My husband says once they hatch, he'll put them into the portable coop but you can't predict when they'll hatch.