i somehow acquired 2 runaways and i have questions. please help

[pollipazzi]

@Mother of Chaos i was reading your broody troubles in shadrach's thread. i never posted anything in there so i'm shy. lol!
i obviously don't have a nestera coop, and i don't know anything about them... but can you fit an upside down plant pot in the nestbox to block it off? i had done that last time, and it was easy to take in and out and filled the nestbox enough so nobody could fit in.
just thought i'd say it to you if you needed a quick fix.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

@Mother of Chaos i was reading your broody troubles in shadrach's thread. i never posted anything in there so i'm shy. lol!
i obviously don't have a nestera coop, and i don't know anything about them... but can you fit an upside down plant pot in the nestbox to block it off? i had done that last time, and it was easy to take in and out and filled the nestbox enough so nobody could fit in.
just thought i'd say it to you if you needed a quick fix.

Oh, nice! What a great idea! I have a ridiculous number of flower pots scattered about.

Perris (who also has Nesteras) described a way to block access using a metal grill trimmed to fit the coop's dimensions. I've just now healed up from cutting hardware cloth, so I was dragging my feet, lol. The dog crate meant for next Tuesday's (!!!) new pullets is being delivered today, and that will do double duty for broody jail, if needed.

 

[pollipazzi]

Oh, nice! What a great idea! I have a ridiculous number of flower pots scattered about.

Perris (who also has Nesteras) described a way to block access using a metal grill trimmed to fit the coop's dimensions. I've just now healed up from cutting hardware cloth, so I was dragging my feet, lol. The dog crate meant for next Tuesday's (!!!) new pullets is being delivered today, and that will do double duty for broody jail, if needed.

hardware cloth cuts are the worst!
i bought a crate too... for just in cases... but i don't want to have to use it. i think i caught her early enough that she might give up soon

i am really annoyed though because it will not stop raining and i want to put the automatic door on so badly! we'll have to put a piece of plywood underneath though because the coop has moulding going across the top of the pop door that i think holds the front together. lol! so if there's no plywood, there will be gaps i think.

i don't think it will stop raining until saturday.
power tools and rain are a bad combo.

edited because i forgot to add...
how exciting! how many pullets?

 

[Mother of Chaos]

hardware cloth cuts are the worst!
i bought a crate too... for just in cases... but i don't want to have to use it. i think i caught her early enough that she might give up soon

i am really annoyed though because it will not stop raining and i want to put the automatic door on so badly! we'll have to put a piece of plywood underneath though because the coop has moulding going across the top of the pop door that i think holds the front together. lol! so if there's no plywood, there will be gaps i think.

i don't think it will stop raining until saturday.
power tools and rain are a bad combo.

edited because i forgot to add...
how exciting! how many pullets?

I hear ya on the endless rain. We get that here in winters, now that snow seems to be mostly a thing of the past. Stay dry!

We have three pullets now, a Barred Rock (the wanna-be broody), a Buff Orpington, and an Easter Egger. We're adding an 8-week-old Speckled Sussex and a 6-week-old second Easter Egger. Oh boy!

All five come from a local breeder who also raises pullets on the side. The first three were all hatched together, and the new ones have been together for the last several weeks. Since the new ones are from the same place as the older ones, and because the breeder is rigorous about biosecurity, I'm taking the advice to skip quarantine, for which I have no room, and go straight to integrating. We had this week and weekend set aside for making some changes to the coop and run, and Little Miss Drama-Llama has not been helpful to plans!

 

[pollipazzi]

I hear ya on the endless rain. We get that here in winters, now that snow seems to be mostly a thing of the past. Stay dry!

We have three pullets now, a Barred Rock (the wanna-be broody), a Buff Orpington, and an Easter Egger. We're adding an 8-week-old Speckled Sussex and a 6-week-old second Easter Egger. Oh boy!

All five come from a local breeder who also raises pullets on the side. The first three were all hatched together, and the new ones have been together for the last several weeks. Since the new ones are from the same place as the older ones, and because the breeder is rigorous about biosecurity, I'm taking the advice to skip quarantine, for which I have no room, and go straight to integrating. We had this week and weekend set aside for making some changes to the coop and run, and Little Miss Drama-Llama has not been helpful to plans!

you got this! i know it! i hope they all like each other! please keep me posted!

 

[RoyalChick]

This is how I can tell Calypso is going broody.
See how puffed up she is?
She hasn’t committed yet, but she is thinking about it.

 

[Iluveggers]

I now keep a permanent dog crate in my run. I have a hen that goes broody about every 6-8 weeks from spring to fall. I let her sit and hatch 3 eggs once, she did a great job until they moved out of the coop and then let the littles wander away from her. One got attacked by another hen and she sat and watched. Luckily I was there to intervene, and they became house-raised chicks. So no more mom-ing for her. She is a very persistent sitter, so as soon as she starts into the crate she goes. I’ve had a few others try broodiness a few times but they were easy to break without the cage.

 

[pollipazzi]

This is how I can tell Calypso is going broody.
See how puffed up she is?
She hasn’t committed yet, but she is thinking about it.
View attachment 4175789

she's like a feathered bowling ball

 

[pollipazzi]

I now keep a permanent dog crate in my run. I have a hen that goes broody about every 6-8 weeks from spring to fall. I let her sit and hatch 3 eggs once, she did a great job until they moved out of the coop and then let the littles wander away from her. One got attacked by another hen and she sat and watched. Luckily I was there to intervene, and they became house-raised chicks. So no more mom-ing for her. She is a very persistent sitter, so as soon as she starts into the crate she goes. I’ve had a few others try broodiness a few times but they were easy to break without the cage.

oh no! i don't blame you for not letting her mom!

 

[pollipazzi]

This is how I can tell Calypso is going broody.
See how puffed up she is?
She hasn’t committed yet, but she is thinking about it.
View attachment 4175789

also. again. i have to say it out loud.
your set up is SO cool.