Letting a hen incubate eggs

[21henmom]

I have been raising chickens for almost 4 years. Last summer we got our first two roosters, so now I have fertilized eggs. Every spring, Lily (one of my 4 year olds) goes broody and I was thinking of letting her set on the eggs. Should I bring her inside in a "brooder box" or build her something special to incubate her eggs in? My biggest concern is snakes. If she goes broody later in the spring black and king snakes will eat the eggs (and I guess maybe chicks too).

 

[CluckerFamily]

When my hen goes broody, I will transfer the eggs to a dog crate that I place in the coop. I leave the door open so the broody can come and go as she pleases. When the days get closer to the hatching day, she will spend more time in the crate so I will shut the door and have food and water for her in the crate. I don't have to do any integration of mom and babies into the flock because they have been with the flock the entire time.
I don't have any snakes in my area that could get into my coop or that are big enough to eat my eggs, so I am not an expert in this area.

 

[50-45-1]

I recommend building her a space of her own where she can brood for 3 weeks in peace.
If snakes are a problem in your location use 1/4 inch hardware cloth to keep them out.
Your brooder might work. She will need room to leave the nest everyday to eat drink and deficate.
I built 2 broody hutches out of reclaimed materials for this purpose. They also work as isolation pens for sick or injured chickens when needed.

If your broodys nest is accessable to your other laying hens, you may end up with staggered batch (not all eggs due to hatch at the same time) which is usually disasterous.
Sounds like you have time to prepare. Glad you are planning early.

 

[21henmom]

I recommend building her a space of her own where she can brood for 3 weeks in peace.
If snakes are a problem in your location use 1/4 inch hardware cloth to keep them out.
Your brooder might work. She will need room to leave the nest everyday to eat drink and deficate.
I built 2 broody hutches out of reclaimed materials for this purpose. They also work as isolation pens for sick or injured chickens when needed.
View attachment 2491740
If your broodys nest is accessable to your other laying hens, you may end up with staggered batch (not all eggs due to hatch at the same time) which is usually disasterous.
Sounds like you have time to prepare. Glad you are planning early.

I have thought about this since I got roosters Lily is getting older and she wants chicks so badly. I want to give her a chance to be a mom. I think she will be a good one. I like the isolation pen. My husband could build one (we have most of the material from other projects-- and coops) and we could set it under the carport then move it when it wasn't needed anymore. I use a large dog crate for my isolation coop right now. This would be a more permanent solution.

 

[21henmom]

When my hen goes broody, I will transfer the eggs to a dog crate that I place in the coop. I leave the door open so the broody can come and go as she pleases. When the days get closer to the hatching day, she will spend more time in the crate so I will shut the door and have food and water for her in the crate. I don't have to do any integration of mom and babies into the flock because they have been with the flock the entire time.
I don't have any snakes in my area that could get into my coop or that are big enough to eat my eggs, so I am not an expert in this area.

I use a large dog crate for my isolation pen right now! Thanks for the suggestion! We fight snakes from about late April to late July. We don't kill them, just relocate them.