Multiple hens laying in broody chicken nests

[whatsthequestion]

I have three broody hens which I had not let set on eggs. While I was on vacation the chicken's caregiver was afraid to take their eggs. I candled them when I got back and have chicks in all three nests. I thought since we had chicks underway Now I have multiple hens pushing in to lay in these three nests even though I have 18 boxes for my 29 hens. I marked the eggs for hatching and daily retrieve the unmarked eggs. This, however, will likely not work for hatching. I'm concerned I'll lose a lot of chicks. Any suggestions? If I build a brood pen inside my coop with three boxes can all three chicken's share the pen? My coop is 20 x 8 (see pictures) The broody hens have been running outside once, occasionally twice, a day to eat, drink, and poop.

I do have 3 huge dog crates. Could I put them in those and make nesting spaces towards the back for them? Would I need to close them off from the rest of the coop population?

 

[Aapomp831]

I don’t know the answer to your questions because I’ve never had multiple broodies; however, your coop is amazing. I love it.

 

[Chicalina]

the 3 dog crate idea is perfect. Move them at night and enclose the crates with some cardboard or blankets so they feel like safe dark hidey holes. Lock them in for the first day, if not the rest of the incubation, and let them out once/twice a day, or you'll have other hens going in there too.

 

[whatsthequestion]

Thank you! We put linoleum on the poop boards, lol. I give them a quick scrapedown and mopping daily. I use an old Rubbermaid container to scrape the poop into. I do the same with the roosts. It has made it so much faster and easier and the coop stays cleaner, and fresher smelling. The bedding stays really clean for longer periods of time, too. Best thing we have ever done in the coop.

Here's how we made them: We were able to get heavy 3/4" pressboard for free from Lowes. It's part of shipping materials so they throw it away. We painted both sides and the edges to seal it from any moisture with latex paint. The linoleum was an end cut clearance. We used flooring adhesive and glued the linoleum to the press board and let them air in an outside woodshed shed for 24 hours before installing them.

Funny story...years ago before we had chickens, and only one dog (who never needed crated) my husband drove by a yard sale and saw three large dog crates and two metal cat crates, all for $40. He bought them. I asked him what he was thinking when he bought them. He said he was thinking they might come in handy some day. I thought he had kind of lost his mind but just rolled with it. We have since used those crates for brooding chicks, helped with rescues, babysat a baby pig, and more. Now we are using them for broody hens. Lol

 

[whatsthequestion]

I don’t know the answer to your questions because I’ve never had multiple broodies; however, your coop is amazing. I love it.

Thank you! I love it, too.

 

[whatsthequestion]

I noticed some of the nest are off the ground, if I were you I would move them to a broody coop. But do this at night when it is dark.

I have a small hoop hut I might be able to set that up for. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[whatsthequestion]

the 3 dog crate idea is perfect. Move them at night and enclose the crates with some cardboard or blankets so they feel like safe dark hidey holes. Lock them in for the first day, if not the rest of the incubation, and let them out once/twice a day, or you'll have other hens going in there too.

Thank you! We are going to go with this rather than pull pull the hens out of the coop. Hopefully this will work.

 

[whatsthequestion]

I'm wondering if everything went well? I have multiple broodies right now and would like to have them together in a shared run. How long did you keep the hens and chicks in the dog crates after they hatched? Also, could the chicks fit through the bars? Will the mamas attack the other chicks?

Everything went well, however, I did have to make some adjustments.

First, yes, chicks can come through the crate bars, and you will need cardboard or something around the bottom parameter to keep them in. The indoor brooder, that I made from a dog crate, has hardware cloth around the sides and is attached to the door as well to keep them in. This was infinitely easier than dealing with the cardboard long-term.

I had so many chicks in one crate that it became incredibly crowded for the mom, feeder, water, and chicks. I found myself having to go to the coop multiple times a day to check for overturned waters and feeders. I tried attaching them in a variety of ways but was not having success. This is where Plan B came about.

Because of the way my roost/poop boards are designed I have really clean space underneath them and decided to put in dividers (see picture) with easily removable doors and create individual brooding spaces underneath. I made nest boxes out of sturdy cardboard boxes and reinforced the bottom front doorways with a piece of wood. It worked brilliantly! I was able to attach the waterers in such a way that they couldn't be turned over. Because the size was larger, I only had to do a quick daily tidy, taking out visible poop, and a deep clean once a week. The only con to this for me is that I have bad knees and had to keep a knee pad in the coop to care for them.

We kept them in the brooders for about a month then began gradually letting them out in the coop to see how everyone got along. By 6 weeks they were out full time and began taking them outside. I would go to the coop three times a day to check waterers and would let my hens out at different intervals at first. I tried letting them all out at once initially and my French Copper would fiercely attack chicks that were not her own if they came into her space, so yes, this could definitely happen. The other two hens would actually watch one another's chicks when one would go outside for a few minutes and their chicks also pajama partied in one another's nest boxes. As I began letting them all out again my Barred Rock gave the French Copper a hefty pecking and the aggressive behavior settled down and they started staying out together. By 6 weeks I no longer closed the brooders up at night and by 8 weeks all of the mothers were back on the roost and their chicks with them. My head rooster was very protective of the young ones outside which was an added bonus.

As I shared earlier, I had never let my hens hatch eggs preferring to brood them myself, so this was definitely a trial-and-error experience. Ultimately this worked out well. It is nice letting them be in the general population because the integration process for the chicks was super easy and avoided the heavy pecking that can happen when you introduce new chickens to the flock.

I hope this helps.

 

[thehenandchick01234]

I noticed some of the nest are off the ground, if I were you I would move them to a broody coop. But do this at night when it is dark.

 

[whatsthequestion]

Well, here is what I went with. I'll move them tonight. Hopefully this will work! Thanks for your help.