How do you move a broody hen

[Wild1]

I live in Malaysia and I have 20 of what they call here as Ayam (chicken) Kampung (village) or village chicken they are direct or nearly direct descendants of the very common Jungle fowl which still live in my area. They are beautiful birds but go broody at the drop of a hat. I have to check for eggs 3 times a day otherwise bang one of them ail go broody almost immediately. i have ready many threads on how to stop the broodiness and I have settled on the chicken jail idea. This is simply a large bird cage where I confine the birds for a day or three until they stop being broody however right at the time of writing I have 6 birds broody at the same time the jail is full so I am now at the surrender point and have decided to allow 2 or 3 birds to sit on the eggs. I do not want them to take up the nest boxes so I have made some private nest boxes in the shed next door placed in some dry grass and 8- 10 eggs in each one I have taken the broody hen from the original nest box and put her inside but she has decided to go nuts and will not sit on the new nest. I have taken her out and straight away she wants to sit on the old nest, The question is how to move a broody hen.

Stephen

 

[Judy]

They definitely don't like to be moved! I've gotten away with it once or twice, though. From advice here, I made the move at night, well after dark, and I took the whole nest, including the hay, and kept everything together by lifting it into some kind of box and moving the box. I read not to disturb the nest any more than I had to. No guarantees, but maybe this will help you.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you are relocating a hen, I suggest you fix the new nest so it is kind of dark, mainly try to keep it out of bright light. The hen wants to hide her nest form predators and darkness seems to sooth her. You also do not want the nest to become an oven in the sun. Maybe a little ventilation opening at the top is a good idea. I suggest you fix the nest so you can lock her in the nest itself.

The area needs to be big enough for a nest, food and water, and enough room for her to come off the nest and poop. You’ll have to change out the water and food and maybe clean the poop out so you need good access. You need to be able to lock her in this area so she cannot go back to the old nest.

Then move her at night with as little light and commotion as you can manage. Lock her in the nest itself for the rest of that night and most of the next day. Broody hens are used to spending that much time on the nests so it won’t hurt her. Then just a little before dark, let her out of the nest and into the food and drink area. She may not even come out until the next day.

You need to have some eggs in that nest when you first move her. These can be real eggs you want her to hatch or fake eggs if you want to make sure she is going to accept the nest before you risk more valuable eggs.

These things don’t come with guarantees but I’ve sued a variation of this to get a hen to accept a different nest. I think it gives you your best chance. Good luck!

 

[Wild1]

I have followed your instructions and tried to move the broody hen but I am afraid this morning I found she would not sit on the relocated nest. I opened the door and let her out of the dark nest area and she ran straight back to the chicken house to sit on an empty nest box. She has sat there all day. I will put eggs under her tomorrow and leave her there. I am worried because the chicken house is about 4 feet above the ground so what to do when the eggs hatch? can I move her then?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've seen a hen get her chicks down form a10' high hay loft. Mama says jump and they do. A 4' high coop doesn't concern me. You can move her after the hatch if you wish but I would not.

If she ran back to her nest, you did not fix an area where she could not do that. Also if you let her out in the morning you did not leave her locked in that nest all day. But some hens will just not be moved. You may have one of those.

 

[AmericanMom]

I've seen a hen get her chicks down form a10' high hay loft. Mama says jump and they do. A 4' high coop doesn't concern me. You can move her after the hatch if you wish but I would not.

If she ran back to her nest, you did not fix an area where she could not do that. Also if you let her out in the morning you did not leave her locked in that nest all day. But some hens will just not be moved. You may have one of those.

My broody is one that refuses to be moved, Moved her at night with the eggs to a secluded spot, she settled right down but was up and agitated the next morning as soon as she heard the rest of the flock outside, I let her out as I was afraid she would hurt herself or the eggs... She ate and pooped and headed back to her old nest which is 5 feet off the ground... Her clutch was still warm so I just decided to transfer them to her where she chose to sit... Figure I'll work it out on hatch day and see what happens

 

[Judy]

Now in my chicken yard, hatch day is no problem, I let the mama raise thie chicks in with the flock, anyway. Or if you're talking about the height, as Ridgerunner said, a 5' descent is no problem for them.

 

[azelgin]

The area needs to be big enough for a nest, food and water, and enough room for her to come off the nest and poop. You’ll have to change out the water and food and maybe clean the poop out so you need good access. You need to be able to lock her in this area so she cannot go back to the old nest.

Then move her at night with as little light and commotion as you can manage. Lock her in the nest itself for the rest of that night and most of the next day. Broody hens are used to spending that much time on the nests so it won’t hurt her. Then just a little before dark, let her out of the nest and into the food and drink area. She may not even come out until the next day.

You need to have some eggs in that nest when you first move her. These can be real eggs you want her to hatch or fake eggs if you want to make sure she is going to accept the nest before you risk more valuable eggs.

These things don’t come with guarantees but I’ve sued a variation of this to get a hen to accept a different nest. I think it gives you your best chance. Good luck!

This is exactly the way I've done this, with probably a success rate of 95%.
I have one coop that is 35' long, by 6' wide. It has three pop doors to the run (16 x 35). The end section (6 x 6) becomes the broody pen, when we decide to let a broody hatch out chicks. It has it's own sectioned off run area and only 1 nest. When a hen goes broody in another nest, or coop, we move her to the broody pen. I think the key to success is confining her to the nest itself. If you don't, she will hop off and try to find a way back to the old nest, pacing the fence and getting frustrated. Confinement seems to make them settle in, since there is no way to get off the nest and become anxious about returning to the old nest site.
When the chicks hatch out. the little brooder coop allows everyone to become familiar, without the chicks getting harmed by the rest of the flock. As soon as the chicks reach a few weeks of age, the broody coop is opened to the main area and everybody gets to mingle.
The broody pen also doubles as a "breeding" coop. It lets us select the hens and rooster we want to collect future replacement stock from. We lock a few of the best hens in with the best rooster and collect the eggs laid during the third and later weeks for incubating.
It's worked out well for the past 7 years.

 

[AmericanMom]

Now in my chicken yard, hatch day is no problem, I let the mama raise thie chicks in with the flock, anyway. Or if you're talking about the height, as Ridgerunner said, a 5' descent is no problem for them.

Yes, I will let her raise them with the flock, she is high on the pecking order so I am not worried she can do a fine job, I had thought I should move her to keep the other hens from laying in her nest but she hasn't allowed anyone else in her nest so I am fine with leaving her where she is. And now I wont worry about the height either.. Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mark the eggs you want her to have and check at the end of the day for any new eggs. I just make two circles on the egg with a Sharpie, one circle the long way and one the short so I can tell at a glance which eggs belong.

As long as you remove them daily, you can still use them. Sometimes another hen will lay in that nest, if not with a broody them while the broody is out for her daily constitutional. Believe it or not, some broodies have moved eggs from other nests to theirs, even if the nests are elevated.