Moving a broody hen and eggs to the ground

[Fleece-Feathers-Fur]

I have a broody hen in an elevated nesting box. She is sitting on one egg now and I intend to add others I was planning to incubate to her "stash." A couple of questions. I am concerned the chicks will fall out of the nesting box after hatching so am wondering if I can relocate her and the eggs to the floor of the coop. I would put her in cage I have on the floor but leave the door open so she can leave if and when she wants? Next question what is a reasonable number of eggs to put under her? Thanks in advance.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Do you mean you will collect a stash of eggs and give them to her all at the same time? To clarify, you will want to give her the clutch of eggs you want her to hatch all at once. Otherwise the chicks will begin to hatch on different days, and your broody will need to abandon the unhatched eggs after a couple of days to tend to her chicks. Allow your broody to continue to sit on the single egg (or a few more) until you are ready to give her the clutch you have collected for her. Then remove the egg(s) she is currently sitting on and replace with the clutch you have chosen for her.

As far as moving her now, she will probably try to return to a nest box if you move her now yet allow her access back to the nest box she is currently in. Also, broodies occasionally "break" (lose their broody hormones) if they are moved. That is more likely to happen with first-time broodies. Use your judgement on moving her now or later, but you are correct to be concerned that chicks could fall out of the elevated nest box. If you choose to let her stay in her current nest box until chicks begin to hatch, block off the nest box at hatching time so chicks can't fall out, then move mom and chicks after all have hatched. If you allow her to stay in a nest box for now, there is also the potential for her to switch nest boxes, and also the possibility other hens will add to her clutch.

As far as a reasonable number of eggs to put under her, how large of a hen is she? It is tempting to give a broody all the eggs she can cover, but the hen also needs space to be able to rotate and turn her eggs so the embryos develop properly. With a first-time large-fowl broody, 9 eggs is about the largest number that will allow for a maximum hatch rate. My experienced broodies that weigh 5-6 pounds can easily hatch 12-13 eggs, but I usually only give them 9-12.