Moving eggs from broody hen

[valerieb]

I have a bantam that had stashed 11 eggs in a hole in a hay bale and she wanted to sit on them all night. I was worried about something getting her in that hole so I took the eggs and put them in one of the nesting boxes in the coop and put her in there but she didn't want to stay on them then. I put a screen in front of the box for the night so she had to stay in but I am wondering what I can do it she doesn't want to stay when I take it off tomorrow? I just don't trust the hay bale hole. We live in a very rural area and do have some critters around that would love to get ahold of her. She would be trapped if something tried to get her in the hole.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You are on the right track. What you want is an area for the nest, a small area for her own food and water, and an area big enough for her to get off the nest and go poo. You'll need to clean that poo area as required. A lot of people use dog crates or something similar. Or you can build your own pen. Here is a photo of what I did. This is the nesting boxes but when one goes broody, I block off the opening and remove the board to give access to the middle. I can service the middle section from the back.

I don't have bantams. Can she cover all 11 eggs at one time? If not, you need to remove enough so she can. Otherwise, the eggs will start to develop, then that egg will get moved out from under her and will cool and die, then get moved back under her and another egg will be moved out to cool and die. It is hard to do, but you might be better off to toss a few eggs. If she is far enough alone, you can try candling to determine which to toss. If she can cover all of them, this is not a problem.

Good luck!