Moving broody hens

[eulogos]

I have a 25% success rate this year at moving broodies and having them brood in the new location. And I am not entirely sure that my two successes have not been the same chicken who hatched chicks Jan 22/23 already starting again. Others I tried to move refused to sit on eggs in the new place and either quit entirely or returned when released to the same nest in the coop. Where other hens laid in the nest and worse, nasty egg eaters pecked their eggs and ruined the whole batch. I once had success in the coop when I had 12 broodies in there. I shut them in and let them off every morning, then stayed in the coop until they all returned. I neglected my garden, missed grandkids birthday parties.... not doing that again. So, what are the secrets of broody moving besides at night in the dark? Is there a timing issue? Such as you can move them on days 2-5 but not thereafter?

 

[Isaac 0]

Sorry, no one was able to respond, were you ever able to move them?

 

[eulogos]

Sorry, no one was able to respond, were you ever able to move them?

Two people responded on a thread under a different category. One said wait to move them until chicks are peeping in eggs, then broody will be attached to eggs, not place. In one trial, this did not work. The hen scattered her eggs all over the dog crate, and spilled the food and water. When I let her out she went and sat on two eggs one nest over from the empty nest she had been brooding on. I gathered her eggs, put them back in the nest, put her on them, and she hatched them last night and today. What I feared happened last night, a chick got out of the nest and had to be rescued from a driving rain, 40’ from the nest! My husband managed to wedge a piece of cardboard behind the nest to keep the chicks in. She has 8 now and 4 not hatched. Tomorrow we move her and the chicks.
Another person said move a broody as soon as you think she is brooding, to a place with some eggs ( or fake eggs if you do not want to risk good ones). This worked and I have a broody in a dog crate, due first werk of June. So as of now, that is what I will do. Until I run out of places to out them!

 

[janiedoe]

I have moved 2 broodies with success, on more than one occasion at different times during incubation.
I'm about to move one of them again next week at two weeks into the incubation cycle. She is in a top nest. Ive moved her three times before. Once at week one, once at the last minute (17 days), and the last time at 3 days. She always settles in quickly, though she went back to the original box and had to be moved back again at 17 days. She is the easiest I've ever moved.
The other hen that has been a success, has been moved around for years. She shrieks like a banshee for about 10 minutes. I don't give her the eggs until she settles in. I wear gloves too. Lol.

I've tried to move another broody without success on two occasions at different times during incubation.
I'm going to say that "It depends on the hen."
With her last time, I just wrapped some plastic netting around her nest box when she started hatching. It was a pain having to let her and the babies out daily but after a week they could get in and out on their own. I didn't have to worry about the other hens laying in her box because they were very afraid of her.