I've got a broody- Whoot Whoot!!!!

[prncssprplfrog]

As soon as the LAST of my 21 eggs are due to hatch, my beloved Cha-Cha has decided to go all broody on me! I'm so excited, but here's the thing:
She's a standard Partidge Cochin who literally shoves herself in the nesting box to lay her eggs. The boxes were build too small against my specifications my two PC's usually end up dropping the eggs just outside the nest door into the coop house.
We are off on school break this week & I had planned on revamping our shotty coop to make it a fully enclosed hen-house. So she really could have picked a better time to go broody on me! I have beenpicking her up out of the nesting box and throwing her out to forage with the rest of the flock the past couple of days & yesterday I found her sitting on a golf ball- no eggs!


I have 6 hours left on a silkie egg auction and should (theoretically) have the eggs by the end of the week. I was hoping she would hatch these. What should I do?


I have a small wire dog crate that I could put her in with a milk crate for a nest. Because of the cold weather here in NY, I was thinking about putting her in the coop in that- would that work? Then I would have to let her out a few times a day right?

Here's Cha-

Here's the inside of the "coop"

Here's the big nest I set up for her; funny thing is that the tiniest of our chickens (sebright) uses it. She won't touch it.

 

[wannabe_goatmom]

I'm not sure if you are thinking of buying something for her, but this is what I got for my broody girl

I got it at TSC for $99.
I had to put it together but it was real simple all you need is a screwdriver and about 15 minutes.
I did have to have the hubby help me move it to the chicken house because I was not smart enough to put it together in there. Good thing it fit through the door

Good Luck with the Silkie eggs. My little girl is sitting on 6 Silkie eggs. It's her first time so I hope she does well.

Edited to add: The whole front of it is on hinges so you can open it, I opened it for a little while today. She went outside and ate a little, drank a lot and took a quick dustbath then she was back with her eggs.

 

[prncssprplfrog]

I don't think I'm going to win the silkie auction...as the price jumped too high with about 4 hours left. I would love some silkie eggs to hatch, but am aiming for all of my new birds to be B/B/S of some sort. They are harder to find.
I have duck eggs coming as well, but don't dare put them under her.