Nearing hatch day blocking off nesting box in coop or move her

[MessyJo]

I have a first time broody (raised by my other broody). She started with 14 eggs and then I reduced to 10 by candling. Over time less and less were viable and now she has 4. Between Monday and Wednesday will be 21 days (eggs were a couple days apart).

Anyway, she is in the favorite nesting box. I tried to move her early in her broodiness but it really pissed her off and was a no go so I let her stay. But the others still go in to lay and sometimes kick her off which I think contributed to so many eggs dying earlier.

Since we're getting close, I'm wondering if I should block off the nesting box. I can put a wire basket over the opening and leave food and water, but there's not enough space to come off and poop or if I try to move her to a new location. Another option is closing off this coop and hoping the rest move to the second coop which isn't used by most of them and/or set up other potential egg laying areas around as options during the day and shut them out of the coop until night when they go back in for bed.

Thoughts and opinions?

 

[Debbie292d]

I think I'd try the option where you close off this coop entirely until the chicks hatch, as you're only talking a few days. Maybe let the babies get at least two days old though, so they're able to run should they need to, then let the other adults come back if they so choose. The mother hen won't let them hurt her babies and they'll quickly learn to stay away from them.

If the others don't go to the other coop, they'll probably sit down around this coop, so you'd have to carry them into the other one.

 

[MessyJo]

I think I'd try the option where you close off this coop entirely until the chicks hatch, as you're only talking a few days. Maybe let the babies get at least two days old though, so they're able to run should they need to, then let the other adults come back if they so choose. The mother hen won't let them hurt her babies and they'll quickly learn to stay away from them.

If the others don't go to the other coop, they'll probably sit down around this coop, so you'd have to carry them into the other one.

Thanks, I initially closed the whole coop off but they were all freaking out because they didn't have their preferred places to lay available. So I opened it up and blocked off her nesting box so they'd have to use the other one, but one hen still got back there. Tonight I moved mom to the less preferred nesting box and will block her off again and see if that works since now the favorite one is back available.

I usually prefer to move mom earlier in sitting time to a completely separate area not in the coop, but this one wasn't having it.