Nesting in a shrub, and hens taking turns on the nest.

[KnightSmithJones]

Hi everyone, I hope you are well.

At the risk of embarrassing myself horrifically...

Our chooks (seven hens, one rooster) are left to their own devices 24/7. We have had them now for around two years. They have an abundance of water stations, a food station, plus daily food scraps and several large gardens to destroy. They don't have a pen or shed but do have weatherproof stations throughout the property. Protection is in the form of our dogs which keep most threats away.

I had set up nesting boxes throughout the property in secure, private areas, but of course, these are ignored, and instead, the chooks lay wherever the heck they want to. This was fine until recently when we decided to let one of our hens attempt to hatch her latest clutch.

She nests in a bush/shrub type thing. It looks comfortable enough, but given that it is built on stems and branches, my logic is that if chicks arrive, they are not going to be able to get out of the shrub. Additionally, this one hen has since moved on from the nest having been on it for about three weeks or so. Nothing has hatched. A new hen has since moved in.

I have no idea what to do next. Do I write the whole thing off as a cr@p idea, discard the old eggs, and never talk about it again, or do I attempt to move the eggs and hen to a better location, or do I just stay out of it and let it play out? Or do I acquire an incubator and try to hatch the existing eggs in that (having never done this before)?

My priority is the mother hen and unborn chick's welfare. What is the most civilised thing to do here?

Thanks team.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

If hen #1 has been on the eggs for three weeks they should be very close to hatch. I would candle a few to see if they are alive. If so, let hen #2 sit on them and as they hatch move them to a brooder. They will probably stay under her for a day or two which will give you time to set up a brooder. and get heavy gloves cause she will peck the hell out of you when you go for the eggs or chicks. That's just an idea. I'm no expert but I have done a few broody hen shuffles in the past couple years. If you try to move her I wonder if she will stay on the eggs since she just started. Sometimes the move doesn't work and if your eggs are close to hatch you could lose them all

 

[KnightSmithJones]

If hen #1 has been on the eggs for three weeks they should be very close to hatch. I would candle a few to see if they are alive. If so, let hen #2 sit on them and as they hatch move them to a brooder. They will probably stay under her for a day or two which will give you time to set up a brooder. and get heavy gloves cause she will peck the hell out of you when you go for the eggs or chicks. That's just an idea. I'm no expert but I have done a few broody hen shuffles in the past couple years. If you try to move her I wonder if she will stay on the eggs since she just started. Sometimes the move doesn't work and if your eggs are close to hatch you could lose them all

Thanks for this.

Yep, she's an attack hen alright. Little beak wounds all over my hands haha.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

My husband gave me some really thick rubbery gloves that worked well for this. I wish I knew what the material was so I could tell you! They're some kind of work gloves that are flexible but thick. Really saved my hands when I had to check eggs under one of my broody unsociable girls last year!

 

[Yardmom]

Being the nest was where multiple hens could get, chances are you are going to have a staggered hatch (mark eggs and pick anything added in the future). Candle the eggs to figure out not only how many are good, but how far along each one is. If you are going to save them all you will likely need a incubator and a brooder.
If the nest is not an ideal place for chicks, moving the hen might be best. When moved the hen needs to be in a small space and cannot be able to get back to the original nest. I personally use a large dog crate. With live animals you never know how it will go.

Being your current hen just started to sit, she may remain on the eggs after chicks are hatching. The chicks can stay with her if the chicks can get to food and water. Once she leaves the nest the remaining eggs could be moved to an incubator. She is not likely to accept the chicks after they hatch in the incubator, but if they are not much younger you can try to give them to her.

 

[KnightSmithJones]

Being the nest was where multiple hens could get, chances are you are going to have a staggered hatch (mark eggs and pick anything added in the future). Candle the eggs to figure out not only how many are good, but how far along each one is. If you are going to save them all you will likely need a incubator and a brooder.
If the nest is not an ideal place for chicks, moving the hen might be best. When moved the hen needs to be in a small space and cannot be able to get back to the original nest. I personally use a large dog crate. With live animals you never know how it will go.

Being your current hen just started to sit, she may remain on the eggs after chicks are hatching. The chicks can stay with her if the chicks can get to food and water. Once she leaves the nest the remaining eggs could be moved to an incubator. She is not likely to accept the chicks after they hatch in the incubator, but if they are not much younger you can try to give them to her.

Thank you, noted.

 

[Shadrach]

Hi everyone, I hope you are well.

At the risk of embarrassing myself horrifically...

Our chooks (seven hens, one rooster) are left to their own devices 24/7. We have had them now for around two years. They have an abundance of water stations, a food station, plus daily food scraps and several large gardens to destroy. They don't have a pen or shed but do have weatherproof stations throughout the property. Protection is in the form of our dogs which keep most threats away.

I had set up nesting boxes throughout the property in secure, private areas, but of course, these are ignored, and instead, the chooks lay wherever the heck they want to. This was fine until recently when we decided to let one of our hens attempt to hatch her latest clutch.

She nests in a bush/shrub type thing. It looks comfortable enough, but given that it is built on stems and branches, my logic is that if chicks arrive, they are not going to be able to get out of the shrub. Additionally, this one hen has since moved on from the nest having been on it for about three weeks or so. Nothing has hatched. A new hen has since moved in.

I have no idea what to do next. Do I write the whole thing off as a cr@p idea, discard the old eggs, and never talk about it again, or do I attempt to move the eggs and hen to a better location, or do I just stay out of it and let it play out? Or do I acquire an incubator and try to hatch the existing eggs in that (having never done this before)?

My priority is the mother hen and unborn chick's welfare. What is the most civilised thing to do here?

Thanks team.

Having set up your keeping system as fully free range; something I thoroughly approve of, I wouldn't start interfereing now.

Is the new hen that moved onto the nest broody or is she just using the stie to lay?

Hens and their roosters can choose some odd sites for the hen to sit and hatch in. It isn't usually the chicks getting out of the nest that's the problem, it's getting the chicks back to the nest for the first few days that can be.
Is the new hen that moved onto the nest broody or is she just using the stie to lay?

I would destroy the nest anyway. Remove most of the eggs. Break one or two at the nest site. Don't look at the contents if you are sqeamish. The more it looks like a predator has found the nest the less likely that hen or others will lay in it in the future.
Please don't buy an incubator. Chicks hatched in an incubator will be at a major disadvantage to those broody hatched and raised evenif one has a broody hen one can put the chicks under.

Write this one off to experience. If you've got hens that go broody they'll try again at some point.

 

[KnightSmithJones]

Is the new hen that moved onto the nest broody or is she just using the stie to lay?

Broody. Aggressively so .

I wouldn't start interfereing now

Yep noted. I will ride it out and deal with the fallout when it arrises. Thanks for this.