Moving My Broody Buff

[denco5]

Can I move my broody hen a few days into the setting process or should I keep taking the eggs each day until I am ready to move her? I just now realized what was going on and need a few days to build a seperate place for her.

Is there a good number of eggs to have her set on? Will a buff raise a cochin if I give her a cochin egg?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Judy]

They do not like being moved -- I had one freak so badly she stopped being broody, and fought to get back to her old nest. I moved the whole nest (plastic bin) at night one time, which worked. It is a whole lot easier to move them just after the chicks hatch, as the mama will want to be wherever the chicks are. But I like to have my mamas raise the chicks in with the flock. No integration or housing problems when the mama stops mothering -- which usually has happened with my broodies around 4 weeks.

Or leave her where she is and mark the eggs with a Sharpie, then check each day for added eggs. This has worked pretty well for me, though not 100%. In summer the eggs don't get that cold if she gets back on the wrong nest, and they can be without a hen setting for several hours and still hatch (ask me how I know.)

For number of eggs, whatever she can cover, probably around 10 for an orp. And yes, she will raise a cochin. She will try to raise a duck, turkey, whatever.