moving broody & nest

[mgibbzzz]

I am thinking of moving my broody hen, big momma and her eggs. She has nested in one of our top nesting boxes. The other hens continue to try to lay in the box with her, which she seldom tolerates. We want to move her so when the chicks hatch, keeping our fingers crossed that they do, the chicks won't fall. I am told that it is best to do this at night. She has been nesting for about 2 weeks now. I already have a place ready for them. Any thoughts?

Michelle

DMK Ranch

 

[Featherland]

I tried moving my broody at night into a small coop with very low nesting boxes. The move went smoothly but for some reason I decided to check on her an hour later. She had become disoriented and was setting in a corner off the eggs instead of the nesting box. I put her back in the nesting box. I checked 1/2 hour later and she had moved again. She had never been in that coop before. I put her and her eggs back in the main coop that night. I moved her the next day in the daylight and she was fine. A lot of people say to do it at night but If you do I would go check and make sure she is on the eggs. My hen is pretty tame and trusted me so I think that's why it worked better in the daylight.

 

[eeiko321]

Quote:
well thats what happend to me yesterday.

my hen layed 4 eggs. and ive taken 2 yesterday morning. (i only had 1 hen in my backyard)

and i introduced a new younger hen yesterday afternoon (so they have each other as company)

last night when i checked on them, the original hen stop brooding at the same nest with the 2 eggs left over.

so either it got disoriented about the egg stealing and needs to get used to it (as that was the first time i stole the eggs, unsure about the past of the hen)
or it gets disoriented when a new hen is introduced.

wonder why

 

[cmom]

Do your coops have light?

 

[bigzio]

Giving your broody her own quiet place is the key to a successful hatch and brood.

In my opinion the move to a reality place is worth the risk.

If she is truly a broody mom, the results from the smart move are well worth the effort.

bigzio

 

[bluey]

I agree with moving the broody as well. I had the same experience and I would absolutely recommend moving her at night. As long as the new location is secure and secluded, I think you should be fine....

BTW, my broody successfully hatched her 3 chicks....

 

[mgibbzzz]

Well, I tried to move her last night. It was not very successful. She left the nest and went back to the old one. She was a sad sight, as you could see her searching for her eggs in the nesting box. We tried ro put her on the new nest a couple of times, but she kept going back. So, we ended up reinforcing the old area and put her and the eggs back. She seems content now. We checked on them several times thru the night and she is still there. I guess we will just have to keep a close eye on her. She seems very protective when the other girls come around and will only allow two certain one in the box with her. And they won't let anyone but her in the nest, including us! lol. We did candle the eggs and have 21 that are still good and 10 that we had to toss. Hope everything goes well. Thanks for the input.

Michelle

DMK Ranch

 

[eeiko321]

Quote:
should coops have, lights?

 

[cluckychick]

I moved my broody hen in broad daylight. She was sitting on her eggs for about a week and my silkie rooster climbed in the nest box and tried to do the duty so I didn't feel she was safe with him around. We moved her to an xlarge kennel inside the barn. She took about 10 minutes munching and drinking then went straight to the eggs and sat. Never had a bit of trouble.

 

[mgibbzzz]

I think I will wait a few days and try again. DH can't figure out why I want to move them. He had chickens growing up and said they never messed with them, let momma do the work, then set out food and water for them. Says I should leave well enough alone. A neighbor used to work for the state Ag. dept. and had a lot of chicks and I think I'll ask him when he comes back by.


Michelle

DMK Ranch