How do I stop hens from laying in the broody's nest?

[apostoliclady]

I keep having the same issue! When a hen goes broody in the 'favorite' nesting box, the other girls lay their eggs in there when she goes to eat and potty. Last year, I had a hen sitting on over 40!!! eggs before I realized what was going on. I let her hatch a few, then brought the rest in for the incubator. I see the same thing happening again. I took 6 eggs from a broody hen today alone, then booted her out of the nesting box!

They have 2 favorite nests and 6 others aren't being used!!! I moved her and an egg to an empty box, but she fussed me out and walked of...not wanting anything to do with my idea! How do I correct this???

 

[Katy]

There is no way to keep them apart unless you seperate or make a barrier between them.

 

[Deanner03]

Quote:
This. The only other option I can think of is to mark the ones you want to let her stay on, and keep removing the rest.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Quote:
This. The only other option I can think of is to mark the ones you want to let her stay on, and keep removing the rest.

Yes, we mark ours that go under broodies just to be sure. You don't want to have to deal with chicks at different stages of development.

You can use a marker to put a dot on top of the eggs that are under broody. You'll still have to check them everyday to collect the ones without dots (new eggs).

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
This. The only other option I can think of is to mark the ones you want to let her stay on, and keep removing the rest.

Yes, we mark ours that go under broodies just to be sure. You don't want to have to deal with chicks at different stages of development.

You can use a marker to put a dot on top of the eggs that are under broody. You'll still have to check them everyday to collect the ones without dots (new eggs).

This is what I decided to do with my current broody. My girls haven't done well when I confined them for the duration. This time around the eggs I want her to hatch are marked, the others can be removed daily. 'Course this current broody is a mean thang. I think someone would lose a beak if they dared try to get in her nest.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

That reminds me of a game hen I used to have. I wore arm length welding gloves when I went out to check hers.

 

[KellyHM]

I use a Sharpie to draw lines on the sides of the eggs that I want the broody to keep, then just steal the new ones daily.

 

[gritsar]

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My DH wants me to try the sock over her head trick. She'd probably pull that sock off, add a rock to it and throw it back at me. Mean, I tell ya, really mean!

 

[apostoliclady]

Hahahaha!!!!

Love you guys! You are so funny! Fortunately, this broody girl isn't too mean, just really mouthy, lol! She gripes for about 30 minutes then goes back into the nest I just emptied and sits there pouting!

 

[kano]

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I always separate the broodies.