How do you move a broody hen

[azelgin]

Here is my set up:



There are two nests in this end of the pen. I keep her locked up for a day or so, with the screen panel. I keep the unused nest covered, so she doesn't get back in the wrong nest, after getting off to do her thing. The item in the lower left corner, with the cord coming out of it, is a thermostat for a heat lamp, when we use this coop area for a brooder. Picture is taken from the run, looking through the exterior door. The main coop has three doors, and pop doors opening into the run. Both the run and coop can be divided up for three separate "mini coops", for breeding, brooding, or, chickens of different ages, waiting to be integrated into the flock.

Here is a shot from inside the coop. You can see the heat light hanging over the lowered roost::



Here is a shot from outside, looking east, with the Huachuca Mountains in the background.:

I still haven't stuccoed the front porch wall. Oh well, maybe more tin.

 

[peeplovers]

wow what a beautiful coop and run and land and mountains!!!
thanks so much for the visual : )
I can't decide what to do. The eggs are due to hatch next week and the hen has already abandoned them once when we tried to move her to a small confined area. she just hung out next to them until we opened the door to check on her and she bolted out then. If I literally do hardware cloth around the nesting box she won't be able to get up for food/water/pooping, but if I don't she will likely stay off the eggs. Or maybe not.
At the moment, she is hogging the main coop and all the others are stuck in the tiny coop which was meant for her and the hatchlings LOL

 

[azelgin]

wow what a beautiful coop and run and land and mountains!!!
thanks so much for the visual : )
I If I literally do hardware cloth around the nesting box she won't be able to get up for food/water/pooping,

Thanks.
I know they can go for a full day, maybe longer, without needing to get off the nest. Lock her up, let her off after a day, if she doesn't get back on the nest right away after taking care of business and getting food and water, lock her up again.

 

[peeplovers]

OK< we'll do it!!!!! will report back : )
thank you so much!

 

[Wild1]

Hi guys,

I followed the advice at the beginning of this thread and decided to not try to move the 2 broody hens and have let them sit, now today we have the last egg hatching and have 16 chicks, my hen house is about 3 feet of the ground on legs, with a ladder for the hens to go in and out. Because I also needed to free up the 2 nest boxes from my broody hens so I have moved the 2 broods into another enclosure but together. Now I find the chicks go to either hen and the hens are accepting them, is this a good thing to have 2 hens together or should I separate them? Can 1 hen take care of 16 chicks? What is the best way to look after 2 broods?

Stephen

 

[tommarsil]

I havé been following this thread,and last night decided to move my broody silkie to another box and to put Marans eggs under her. I prepared the new box with lots of deep straw, waited til night time and had my girlfriend pick her up. I then scooped up her nest, eggs and all with a pizza box and placed the nest and her into the new box. This morning I checked to see she was sitting tight which she was then swapped over the eggs. So far so good. She is showing no signs of moving whatsoever.
Many thanks to all who gave advice on this subject, I look forward to some chicks if all goes well.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Glad to find this thread even though it's a few months old. Got the same thing going on. Girl has been working up to being broody for a few weeks and finally went off the deep end about three days ago. Won't leave the nest, flattened like a pancake, fluffs up and squawks when you look at her, has a zombie-like look on her face. We don't have any roosters so I've got some fertile eggs coming for her. I have a communal nesting box and she's hunkered down in there, hampering the other gals laying plus is stealing their eggs to sit on.

Figured I should move her as the fertile eggs are due to arrive tomorrow so I readied our chicken tractor. She has plenty of room in there, put in a large nesting box, fresh shavings, water and food. Wasn't going to move her until night but a storm was coming so moved her at twilight. Found she wasn't sitting on any eggs today [DH had removed her eggs yesterday], she's just been sitting there like a pancake-in-a-trance on nothing all day.

I left the pop door of the tractor open so she could go to the ground level if she wanted to relieve herself. Well, MISTAKE! After dark we went out to close them up and she had gone outside, laying on the ground like a pancake.Guess she's mad we moved her. DH picked her up and - OH, LORDIE, I BELIEVE SHE TURNED INTO GODZILLA BROODY!!! You've never heard such a ruckus as she kicked up when he put her in the coop.

We did put some eggs in the nesting box for her to sit on. Hopefully she'll go back to sitting on the nest. But, good grief, is she MAD at being moved. It's her first time being broody and our first time with a broody so don't know what to expect. Should be entertaining if tonight is any sample of what's to come!