Moving hen and nestbox

[stickman]

I was wondering how big a chance I would be taking by moving my sitting hen and her eggs to a differant box in a coop by herself. Is there a good chance she will continue sitting or get spooked by the new enviroment. My other hens are wearing her out trying to use her nest.

 

[TexasVet]

Depends on the chicken. I've had some that I could move with no problem, and others who high-tailed it right back to the old nest, even though all the eggs were gone.

If you can, move the whole nest box. If not, try to slide a piece of cardboard under the nest/eggs/hen so you can lift and move the whole shebang without taking her off the eggs. If that won't work, move her at night, when she's most inclined to just go back to sleep.

Good luck!

Kathy, Bellville TX
www.CountryChickens.com

 

[deborah]

It's important to move her so she is by herself.

Our mama hen is hatching her second batch today. Last year, we left her in the regular nest box and had lots of problems, including losing 2 chicks during the hatch. When she went broody this year, we built a brood box. We didn't start building it until after she had gone broody and it took 2 days. We moved her at night with new eggs. It's 21 days later, and we are having a very successful hatch!