I found her! Update: Moving didn't go too well... Update # 2....

[bobbi-j]

My BO had gone MIA Tues. of last week. Well, today I found her in the barn, sitting on a nest. Unfortunately, there is really no way to secure where she is in the barn. She's in what used to be my old chicken coop, but the barn is old and the walls are rotting - lots of holes in the walls where she's setting. So, I'm debating on whether I should just take a chance and leave her as DH is suggesting, ("She's been there for a week and nothing's gotten her yet. She'll be fine!") or follow my instincts and put her in a more secure building. Leaning toward moving her tonight. She's been setting for a week, so she should be pretty well settled now. I don't even know how many eggs she's on because I didn't want to bother her. I'll go down tonight and scope it out. If I do move her, it will require taking her outside, so I'm thinking put her and the eggs in a dishpan, cover with another and carry them over. Then just leaving the eggs in the dishpan for a nest (with straw or woodchips, of course). I feel that if I have them in the other building at least I can catch them after they've hatched and integrate them with the rest of the flock after they're bigger. I know some of you let them brood, hatch, and integrate right away, but I'm not sure about doing that yet. DH thinks I can catch them after they hatch (yeah, I'd like to see HIM do that!

)

Maybe I should ask for a vote - all those in favor of moving the hen, say "Aye!"

 

[7L Farm]

She's helpless when a predator shows up. I'd personally move her you've been lucky thus far.

 

[M@M@2four]

Just set up a nice, safe pen with hay, straw, or pine(with plenty of food and water) for her and set her eggs in a nice pile...just quickly move her to the new location and set her on the eggs. She should sit right back on them.

 

[5parrots&zoo]

I do agree with moving her, too much could happen to her if not protected. Prayers for rain have been answered in Schulenburg, we were blessed with 2 inches!

 

[Eggcessive]

You could put her in a large dog pen on a nest with the eggs, with a little food and water, as the poster above said. Then after she has been there a day or 2 you could open the gate so that she can come and go as she needs.

 

[mercedes]

"Aye" If your instincts tell you to move her,by all means DO IT!It's too much of a risk to leave her where she is.

 

[bobbi-j]

Well, she's moved. It didn't go well, but we'll see how she's doing in the morning. Last year I moved a broody banty hen at night. Took her eggs out from under her, put them in a box and her on top of them, she settled right down as I closed the lid, and away we went. Tonight when I reached under the BO, she jumped and tried to run so I grabbed her and tucked her under my arm, stuck the eggs in the box, and carried them all that way to the shed. I had put the top 1/2 of our big dog crate in there so she'd feel more secluded, she ran out, hit the box and broke one of them. Let's just say that when all was said and done, she still has 10 of her 14 eggs and it'll be a miracle if none of them are cracked. She's in a smaller dog crate, was standing up all the way in the back of it, so I tried just tucking the eggs under her as best I could. When I left, she was settled on all of them - I hope. The eggs were cool to the touch by the time she settled, but I'm hoping not dead. Three of the four broken ones were developing

so I hope that means most of the remaining ones will hatch if she continues to set. Sigh. Of course DH had to say, "See! I TOLD you not to move them!" But I'd have felt just as bad if I'd have left her and something got her. A no-win situation, I guess.

 

[Ksane]

It's better to lose some of the eggs than to lose the entire batch plus the hen. Always follow your gut instincts no matter how many people are telling you otherwise.

 

[bobbi-j]

5parrots&zoo :

I do agree with moving her, too much could happen to her if not protected. Prayers for rain have been answered in Schulenburg, we were blessed with 2 inches!

Where is Schulenburg? Glad you got some rain. After being way too wet early this summer, we haven't had measurable rain since July. Hard on the crops....​

 

[bobbi-j]

Quote:
Lost the entire batch anyway. When I went down this morning, she wasn't on the nest and ran out the door when I opened it. The eggs were ice-cold. On the upside, I don't have to figure out where they'd be spending the winter. I already have 13 chickens, and my coop would not have been big enough should she have hatched all or even most of her eggs. I also now know that my rooster is fertile, and hopefully she'll go broody again in the spring. If she chooses the barn again, I'll just have to figure out a way to build something safe around her. Or figure out a better way to move her. Maybe if I'd have put her in the crate, let her settle down and slipped the eggs under her... Oh well, what's done is done, lesson learned.