How to look after a broody hen?

[hannahsflock]

So yesterday my buff orpington hen went broody in a coop nest box. That's fine, I've always wanted to hatch my own chicks, and I have a rooster. As this is my first time, I want to do everything right. I moved her into the broody area, and she started sitting on 10 eggs. I have some food and water near the nesting box where she is sitting.

Everything went as planned until...

Just this morning when I went out to feed the chickens, she was running up and down trying to escape out of the broody area to get back into the main coop, making broody noises and fluffing up her feathers. The eggs were ice cold. I don't know how long she had been off. She has food and water, and she drank a bit and ate a bit, but then continued trying to escape. I put her back on the nest and she settled down again. She is definitely acting like a broody, growling when I come near.

My question is...

How do I look after her properly? And the eggs were so cold, probably for a long time, will they still hatch? She is interested in them, she just seems to also be interested in being back in the main coop. Should I open the broody area? I don't want her to stress herself out, but I think she may forget about the eggs if I let her out.

Any help will be much appreciated!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

So yesterday my buff orpington hen went broody in a coop nest box. That's fine, I've always wanted to hatch my own chicks, and I have a rooster. As this is my first time, I want to do everything right. I moved her into the broody area, and she started sitting on 10 eggs. I have some food and water near the nesting box where she is sitting.

Everything went as planned until...

Just this morning when I went out to feed the chickens, she was running up and down trying to escape out of the broody area to get back into the main coop, making broody noises and fluffing up her feathers. The eggs were ice cold. I don't know how long she had been off. She has food and water, and she drank a bit and ate a bit, but then continued trying to escape. I put her back on the nest and she settled down again. She is definitely acting like a broody, growling when I come near.

My question is...

How do I look after her properly? And the eggs were so cold, probably for a long time, will they still hatch? She is interested in them, she just seems to also be interested in being back in the main coop. Should I open the broody area? I don't want her to stress herself out, but I think she may forget about the eggs if I let her out.

Any help will be much appreciated!

There are a couple of places where potential for the results you have seen came into play. The first thing I noticed is you say she went broody yesterday and you promptly moved her to the broody area. How did you conclude she was truly broody in this short space of time? A bird that is just beginning to show signs of broodiness can easily change her mind. Prior to giving the hen eggs and starting her set, it is best to "test" her commitment. I use a "3 days and 3 nights on the nest" test for my birds - meaning that to prove she is REALLY broody, that hen has to spend that length of time, on the nest, committed to being a broody hen. I suspect that your bird was not actually fully ready to settle in and be broody and the disruption of the move has caused her to react in a distressed manner. As for concern that she may forget about the eggs - IF a hen is truly broody, that is not an issue.
Can you describe the "broody area" you have set up for her - dimensions, location with relation to the coop/flock, etc?
I don't isolate my broodies - the brood, hatch and raise their chicks in the flock - makes the whole "how to care for a broody hen" question much simpler to answer because the answer, for me, is "just like any other hen".

 

[hannahsflock]

There are a couple of places where potential for the results you have seen came into play. The first thing I noticed is you say she went broody yesterday and you promptly moved her to the broody area. How did you conclude she was truly broody in this short space of time? A bird that is just beginning to show signs of broodiness can easily change her mind. Prior to giving the hen eggs and starting her set, it is best to "test" her commitment. I use a "3 days and 3 nights on the nest" test for my birds - meaning that to prove she is REALLY broody, that hen has to spend that length of time, on the nest, committed to being a broody hen. I suspect that your bird was not actually fully ready to settle in and be broody and the disruption of the move has caused her to react in a distressed manner. As for concern that she may forget about the eggs - IF a hen is truly broody, that is not an issue.
Can you describe the "broody area" you have set up for her - dimensions, location with relation to the coop/flock, etc?
I don't isolate my broodies - the brood, hatch and raise their chicks in the flock - makes the whole "how to care for a broody hen" question much simpler to answer because the answer, for me, is "just like any other hen".

Thank you for your reply. I will take your advice on using a 3 day trial for next time. She has calmed down now and has been sitting tight the whole day, just leaving to eat/drink/stretch her legs. I don't have the dimensions on hand, but it is quite big, half of my coop. It also has a fairly big run attached to it. I use it as a grow out area too. So she can see the flock through the wire. I separated her as the other hens were chasing her off the nest, (the one she went broody in is the flock favorite

) I also didn't want the chicks to fall out of the box when they hatch.