High nest box with Broody

[TheOgdensmenagerie]

Hi everyone! This is my first time letting a Broody hatch some eggs. I made the decision to let her hatch when my favorite lavender EE was killed by my dog. (My husband is in the doghouse for this one. He didn't realize the chickens were out. :/)
She is sitting on some of the EEs eggs and I really want them to hatch!
I removed probably 4 or 5 eggs I didn't want from under her and marked the ones I did. Since there is like 7 under her still. I'm sure they will have different hatch times. 3 hens lay the same color eggs then 2 of the EEs so they could just be a day apart who knows.
Any ways my Maran lady chose the highest nesting box which also has no lip. Its a laundry basket turned on its side. About 3 maybe 4 feet off the ground. Its not a large laundry basket she fills most of it all puffed out. Do I need to move her? I'm worried that the chicks will fall and die and/or get attacked by the other members.
I know moving a Broody can cause her to abandon so do I just section off the nesting boxes and a small area with it a little closer to time? Or move her to a lower level when I see the chicks? I'm so lost.

 

[Deryk]

First, this is purely my opinion based off my limited experience and a lot of reading.

The fall likely won't hurt the chicks if they do wander out from under momma, but they obviously won't be able to return to the nest on their own. I would see if you can add some type of front ledge to the nest for some little piece of mind.

I had a broody in a high nest box. We let her remain there until the majority of chicks hatched and were getting active. About 24 hours after the first hatch. I have a floor level brooder inside my coop so we gathered up the chicks first, momma next, and then moved the entire nest material and remaining eggs into the brooder. Momma went right back to sitting and the chicks had a safe space to explore and learn to eat and drink with mamma still close by. I honestly don't remember if any more of the eggs hatched but I know as time went on she would kick out eggs that were bad.

For me it was a calculated risk. I wanted to make sure she had some hatch before I attempted to move her and risk abandoning the nest all together. The decision is entirely up to you.

 

[K3nzi3]

I agree with Deryk here. You will need to be careful if you do decide to move, your hen may abandon the nest. It is certainly up to you though! You know your chickens best.

 

[Welshies]

I agree with Deryk.
Also, the chicks won't hatch at different times unless they were incubated at different times. The embryo doesn't start developing until incubation starts.

 

[TheOgdensmenagerie]

I attached a couple pictures for reference on this foggy morning!

First, this is purely my opinion based off my limited experience and a lot of reading.

The fall likely won't hurt the chicks if they do wander out from under momma, but they obviously won't be able to return to the nest on their own. I would see if you can add some type of front ledge to the nest for some little piece of mind.

I had a broody in a high nest box. We let her remain there until the majority of chicks hatched and were getting active. About 24 hours after the first hatch. I have a floor level brooder inside my coop so we gathered up the chicks first, momma next, and then moved the entire nest material and remaining eggs into the brooder. Momma went right back to sitting and the chicks had a safe space to explore and learn to eat and drink with mamma still close by. I honestly don't remember if any more of the eggs hatched but I know as time went on she would kick out eggs that were bad.

For me it was a calculated risk. I wanted to make sure she had some hatch before I attempted to move her and risk abandoning the nest all together. The decision is entirely up to you.

Thanks for the input and your experience! Thats a smart idea to add a little ledge around it! I could easily make a little wood frame around the cabinet so they get redirected inwards. These are the temp nesting boxes till I make the ones I want, which got of course put on the backburner since these worked fine until deciding to hatch. Lol
I think maybe I'll buy poultry netting and section her off and give the other girls different boxes I noticed another egg or two got snuck in while mama was streching her legs.