Moving hen and new baby chicks

[jeannedeaux]

I just had a chick hatch yesterday and another today. There is one more egg left on this time frame; I have 4 other eggs under the hen that are from later which I will incubate. The actual due date was tomorrow and I'm wondering when to move the little family if that one doesn't hatch? I had to close her into the nest because she refused to move and is up high in a regular laying box, thus she can't move out on her own or kick out eggs she doesn't want. Also, there is no sign of the shells--do they eat them to clean up the nest??

 

[jeannedeaux]

I just had a chick hatch yesterday and another today. There is one more egg left on this time frame; I have 4 other eggs under the hen that are from later which I will incubate. The actual due date was tomorrow and I'm wondering when to move the little family if that one doesn't hatch? I had to close her into the nest because she refused to move and is up high in a regular laying box, thus she can't move out on her own or kick out eggs she doesn't want. Also, there is no sign of the shells--do they eat them to clean up the nest??

 

[BrownBugg]

My silkie chose to brood in everyone's favourite nesting box this time around, and it caused some complications. I tried to move her and the eggs 3 times but she wasn't having it. The other hens kept sneaking in and laying their eggs under her, so I had to check under her every few days, candle and remove the imposters and then 'kill' them haha. It was stressful for everyone! Once the chicks hatched, she came out of her broody trance, and I quite easily moved her and her chicks to a nest on the floor I made up for them. I just grabbed her carefully (making sure there are no chicks stuck up under her wings) and quickly put her in the new nest, then grabbed the chicks and put them with her. She tucked them under her right away and settled in. I was worried about them falling out of the high nesting box too. She settled happily and easily on the floor once all the babies were hatched, but I couldn't convince her to move before then.