How to move a nest?

[Mylilchicks]

I have a 5 and a half month old Rhode Island Red hen along with a bunch of other younger chickens who are all free range. This morning I found her on a nest in the barn (not her coop) with 11 eggs. I am super excited! But I don't want her in the barn laying eggs. How do I get her to lay in the coop? Do I move her eggs? She is my first layer so I am completely new at this. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! thanks!

 

[BlackBart]

I move mine close to dusk as possible. I put her in nesting box/cage that she can't get out of. Never had a problem yet.

 

[Mylilchicks]

So I should pick her up off her roost at night and put her in a cage with a nest? She is not sleeping on her nest, just laying on it some during the day. She still goes out with the other hens and roosters and roosts with them at night. I'm not sure how long she has been laying because her nest was very hidden up in the hayloft.

 

[Judy]

Those eggs are not going to hatch if she's not sitting on them at night, anyway. That's too long off the eggs.

You have a half-broody chicken, maybe???

 

[Lollipop]

Are you saying she is broody, or just laying another egg? Todays RIRs seldom set. If she`s just hiding her nest and not broody, lock her up for a few days in the coop. Put a few eggs in the proper nest and hope for the best. If she`s broody, move her at night and into a small pen on a few of her eggs. If she stays on the nest for 2 nights, remove those eggs(also at night) and replace them with fresh ones that you want her to hatch. Kinda tricky with many breeds, but doing it at night and with as little stress as possible usually works........Pop

 

[BlackBart]

Quote:

I think she is just laying eggs then, not broody. If she was 100% broody she would be on the nest almost 24/7.
I have had RIR hens go broody.

 

[Mylilchicks]

I don't think she is broody, just laying. I don't think I want her to try to hatch any right now anyways because it is already getting so cold (in the 30's at night). I just want her to lay in the coop and not in the barn. Simply because it is easier for me to gather them that way. I also hope to train the other two hens that are not laying yet (they are 4 months) to lay in the coop.

 

[hester]

This is my problem too. My cream legbars are laying in my bantams' coop - but I know it's them because the eggs are blue! I'm going to try the suggestion of putting their eggs back into their own nest box to see if this encourages them back.

 

[chickens really]

I just moved two broody Chicken hens and 8 Duck eggs......


How I did it was set up the Brooder pens.....Make the nests and collect the eggs first.....Put the eggs in the new nests and then bring in the Hens.......Keep it nice and quiet and feed and water the Hens.....They will settle on the eggs as if nothing ever happened or changed.....


Cheers!

 

[hester]

Thanks, Chickens really.