- Jun 12, 2010
- 24
- 7
- 24
One of my Cuckoo Marans ladies has decided she wants to hatch some eggs! First, she was on a couple of wooden eggs, but I was given a dozen fertilized ones by a friend, and she is now setting them.
They are due to hatch April 26th, and I am building a smaller broodpen w/a ground nestbox, rather than leaving her to defend her babies in the regular pen. The nesting boxes are about a foot off the coop floor, so the babies couldn't go back in, once she gets them out--plus they'd have a bit of a fall to get out.
How do I go about moving mama & eggs before they hatch into the new pen/nesting box with a minimal amount of stress, and how likely is she to abandon her eggs if I do?
Also, does anyone else have Cuckoo Marans, and are they very broody? I've had other breeds and not had a 6-month-old hen decide to go broody in any of them!
They are due to hatch April 26th, and I am building a smaller broodpen w/a ground nestbox, rather than leaving her to defend her babies in the regular pen. The nesting boxes are about a foot off the coop floor, so the babies couldn't go back in, once she gets them out--plus they'd have a bit of a fall to get out.
How do I go about moving mama & eggs before they hatch into the new pen/nesting box with a minimal amount of stress, and how likely is she to abandon her eggs if I do?
Also, does anyone else have Cuckoo Marans, and are they very broody? I've had other breeds and not had a 6-month-old hen decide to go broody in any of them!