- Mar 28, 2012
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I've searched and couldn't find anything on this...I've got 3 broody hens; I tried to move two of them off of the egg nests into a separate pen, locking them in individual nests for two days, but they abandoned ship as soon as I let them out & wouldn't set, so I turned them back into the flock & sent the eggs into the dog bowls. The hens then immediately went BACK to their original nests and each has 6 eggs dating from 4/8 - 4/11. The nests are 1 1/2 ft. off of the ground, and I want to move them to the maternity ward...how? I moved them originally just before dark (had no working flashlight at the time, but do now). Also, as this is my first effort at it, I'm a bit unsure: will the hen(s) sit on nest 'til they're all pretty much hatched on different days, all will hatch at once, or...? Can two of the hens (they're Auburn Sumatras & not very large) fit into a 4' x 10' pen w/ their chicks without stress or killing the other's chicks? I'm off-grid, so haven't candled the eggs, so not sure how many are good; this is just an experiment in growing out the chicks from the hens.