Moving a broody hen

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Every hen is different, so you will have to try and see how it goes. If the hens attack them you will have to raise them. Some hens will raise anything, and others want nothing.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

Today I had to move my broody silkie to my "nursery coop" today. I have used it in the past to move chicks with the rest of the flock but keep them safe while they can be seen. It is one of those cheap store bought coops with the wire along the bottom. I then have it inside my larger run (40ft by 22ft). When I moved my broody she pitched a fit and screamed and hollered for a good hour this morning but when I went to collect eggs this afternoon I checked on her and she was sitting on the eggs I put in the nest for her. I'm hoping that she stays there for the next week and a half. I have had the two eggs I put under her in an incubator since Memorial day and have eight more to slip in with her as hatch day approaches.

In the past I've tried moving my broody and it never worked. She'd always go back to the old nest and end up with far too many eggs under her and the marked eggs would get left out in the cold.

 

[TeeMom]

I do the same as CTken. These little dish pans can be found in the kitchen area of Walmart for less than $2 each and they make it soooooo easy to keep clean or move a broody. I've only moved a broody twice since I've had them, but I have a 100% success rate and this picture adequately displays the end result of one of these moves.

 

[bobbi-j]

Thanks all for the responses. We've decided to quit fighting with the broodies.

We have the eggs going in the incubator. I'm wondering if we might be successful with moving the hens and eggs together when they begin to pip so that we can let them raise the chicks instead of having to brood them inside?

Do you have fake eggs or something to put under your broodies while incubating the chicks? Why not just let the hens do the incubating, too? I would want to move those eggs before they begin to pip so as not to take a chance on shrink wrapping them. I'm a hands off hatcher, though. This year I have had three broodies so far, and have let them set and hatch.

 

[Jypzee]

Do you have fake eggs or something to put under your broodies while incubating the chicks? Why not just let the hens do the incubating, too? I would want to move those eggs before they begin to pip so as not to take a chance on shrink wrapping them. I'm a hands off hatcher, though. This year I have had three broodies so far, and have let them set and hatch.

Part of my concern with putting the eggs under the broodies is where they're at. They're each in nest boxes that are fairly high up off of the ground. I'm concerned about them hatching chicks out up there and having them fall out. Is it better to move them all together once the eggs hatch? We have a total of 18 eggs in the incubator at this time. We could split them between the two broodies, but also worried about them not adequately keeping them covered with the other hens in the coop adding their eggs each day.