No access to nesting boxes

[Furmom]

so I snuck a lone chick under a broody hen last night and closed the top part of the coop off from the other four hens (where the nesting boxes are.) I don’t trust my four hens with the new baby in the coop especially while I’m not home, as mamas nest is in the box they all love to lay in (of course) (even though there are plenty of boxes why not fight over one!) my question is, will they lay this morning without access to the nesting area? Or will they be too stressed? I will be moving the baby out when I get home.

 

[aart]

They will definitely be stressed...whether that will keep them from laying remains to be seen.
I'd be more concerned about the single chick with the broody....are you sure she accepted the chick?
.....and how have you been managing the broody being in the favorite nest?

 

[chkva]

They may stress out! I have 3 boxes and all of mine fight over 1 (I only have 3 hens). My OE basically stopped laying for over a week because everyone was using her nesting box.

Hoping the broody accepts the chick!

 

[Furmom]

They will definitely be stressed...whether that will keep them from laying remains to be seen.
I'd be more concerned about the single chick with the broody....are you sure she accepted the chick?
.....and how have you been managing the broody being in the favorite nest?

Normally she moves when they come up to lay and then goes back to sit on their eggs, there hasn’t been any fighting! But now I’m worried about it because there’s a baby under her! I do plan on moving the baby out and back into the brooder once I pick up the new baby (in a few hours) as my second baby passed yesterday. I know it might be cruel and I feel horrible “taking” “her” baby from her but I think it is what’s best. Any opinions?

 

[chkva]

Normally she moves when they come up to lay and then goes back to sit on their eggs, there hasn’t been any fighting! But now I’m worried about it because there’s a baby under her! I do plan on moving the baby out and back into the brooder once I pick up the new baby (in a few hours) as my second baby passed yesterday. I know it might be cruel and I feel horrible “taking” “her” baby from her but I think it is what’s best. Any opinions?

I wouldn't take the baby from her if she's accepted it. Let her care for it then you won't have to. Maybe she will accept the other chick you're getting today? Then you have two chicks being raised by a hen without you having to stress about the heat and what not.

 

[Furmom]

I wouldn't take the baby from her if she's accepted it. Let her care for it then you won't have to. Maybe she will accept the other chick you're getting today? Then you have two chicks being raised by a hen without you having to stress about the heat and what not.

Do I keep her in the coop or bring the hen and the two babies inside to the brooder?

 

[chkva]

Do I keep her in the coop or bring the hen and the two babies inside to the brooder?

I would seperate the hen with the babies for now just because it would be safer for all of them... Then your other chickens can have their nesting box back. It's a win win for everyone that way. I'm sure it's annoying to the broody to have to keep moving for everyone to lay an egg plus I don't think the baby will be quick enough to catch on about moving when the hens come to lay... They might peck at the chick or what not if it doesn't move

 

[aart]

Can you set up a place for the broody and her chicks that is still in the coop but unreachable by the other birds?
Pics of your coop and run would help garner specific solutions.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

It's probably too late to help you since you're probably already at work but one solution would be to lock the hen and chick in one single nest instead of blocking all the other nests. That way the other nests would be open and available.

What are you doing for food and water? The hen is mostly living off of excess fat stored for that purpose, so she doesn't have to look for food and water while the hatch is ongoing. So she should be OK without eating or drinking. How old is the chick though? If it is older than three days it should be eating and drinking. It may survive until you get home but that's a long time to go without food and especially water.

The other hens can hold the egg for a while but I'd expect them to lay somewhere. They may all lay together or the eggs may be scattered. With living animals you don't get guarantees, you could get some weird eggs if they hold them long, anything from a deformed shell all the way to an egg within an egg, but the odds are all will lay a normal egg. One of the triggers for a hen to release a yolk to start tomorrow's egg is when she lays today's egg. You may see some reduced egg laying tomorrow. Or you may get a normal number of eggs. Only time will tell. As far as the other hens the biggest risk to me is that they learn to lay somewhere other than the nests.

It sounds like it was in a brooder, you had two chicks, and one died. For future reference, this is why we typically suggest you get a minimum of three chicks. You'd still have two and would not be in this situation.

From what I understand of your situation I would leave the chick in the brooder by itself until you can get the other chick. Put a mirror in if you can so it can see its reflection or maybe a stuffed animal it could snuggle with. Or maybe use a wooly hen, maybe just a mop head hanging in there so the chick could get under it. I'm guessing you woke up to a situation and just did something quick.

The hen may or may not accept the chick or chicks. The older the chicks the less likely that is, but some hens will adopt about any chick. Again you cannot tell what living animals will do. Not knowing what your set-up looks like it is hard to give specific suggestions so I have to be generic. If the hen does accept both chicks I suggest you set up an area that is safe for predators and leave them there. I have this aversion to bringing a broody hen with chicks into the house but your brooder may be your best temporary option.

With my set-up if the hen accepts the chicks and the chicks accept her I'd turn them loose with the rest of the flock and trust the broody to do what a broody does. But if your set-up is very tight you may be better off building a predator proof pen or a pen in a predator proof area and isolating them for awhile. If that pen can be where the others can see the hen and chicks even better, that may make integration easier later. But if you can't do that others totally isolate and deal with integration later.

I do not consider it cruel to take chicks from a broody hen. You will not permanently damage her self-esteem where you have to pipe in Dr. Phil to restore her. She will get over it in a couple of days. In your situation she may break from being broody, she may not.

Good luck with it, however you go.