moving a broody hen

[Zaxby's2]

So we just found out we have a broody hen, but she is sitting in the most popular nest, which not only disrupts the rest of my laying hens but it is also above ground, which would be a threat to the chicks. When we tried moving her to a separate lot, she flew out, so, thanks to the stubborn will of the broody instinct, she is now sitting on the original nest.

I figured that if I put a roof over the lot then she might decide to sit on the nest in there, but would the move break her of her broodiness? When we put her in the first time she showed no liking to that nest, and I fear she'll freak out since she can't get to her old nest and stop sitting. Will this happen?

 

[dela1991]

I have only had chickens for a year but I will tell you what I experienced. When one of my BO's went broody, she too was in the favored nest box. What I found was that the other hens climbed right in there with her and laid their eggs. I let her sit in there for two weeks and then moved her, and 14 eggs, to my shed so that when the chicks hatched they would not be two feet off the ground. I put a box about the size of the next boxes inside of a larger box and she sat tight on the eggs. Eventually, 5 hatched out over the course of 4 days and I could tell by the coloring that most were not hers. In fact, three had Delaware in them and I have only one Delaware hen. She lost interest in sitting after a few days and I removed the unhatched eggs. After about a week of leaving her with the chicks, I moved her back into the coop with the other hens. I though she would freak but she took the move without any fuss. I put a heat lamp on the chicks.

Good luck with your hatch.

Terri

 

[brownegger]

I think it depends on the breed but, I have had good success moving broody hens in the past. It is definitely a problem when they choose the favored box! You end up with a lot of eggs in different stages of incubation and so many eggs are laid that the hen cannot incubate all of them effectively.

Anyways, I recently moved two broody hens from a woman whom lived an hour from me. I picked up some young layers and unfortunately two were broody. I loaded them in their own box with eggs and lots of straw for cushioning and off we went. Upon arriving home I placed the boxes with broody hens in the coop for three hours before opening them in hopes they would settle and relax before allowing them freewill. One hen got out of the box and did not return for about 5 hours. The eggs had gotten cold for too long at that point and I scrapped the batch. The hen acted broody for a couple of days but resumed laying soon after. The other hen remained on her nest and is still sitting now, should have chicks soon! I have moved other hens in the past and have had good success. Getting them not to be broody and kicking them off the nest has proven to be more troublesome.