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OK, heres the deal. MY brooder box (that I wanted to use as a broody box) is not in the coop, its on my covered porch. I do have a large dog kennel that I could make into a broody box. Other than that, she is in the nest right now in a raised box. Its like 3.5 feet off the ground. I can't put the brooder box in the coop or run. I can fit the large kennel in the run or coop. If she needs to be penned up for a while I can do that, but does she eventually need to be able to leave the box? I mean, there should be enough room for her to get up and move around and have food/water in either one of my broody box options, but does she need more room to get away from the nest or not?
And for food, I'm not sure she has left her nest AT ALL. When I move her, should I put the food and water really close to her, or further away so she has to get up to get it?
You need to put her food and water far enough away that she has to at least stand up and walk a little to eat and drink. I hope someone who has brooded inside a dog kennel will speak up about if you can leave her or not inside of it. I haven't removed mine from the coop and I had 9 broodys this past spring and summer. you deff. don't want her to hatch her chicks 3.5 ft. up, i put all my nest boxes on the floor and my dh built a slopped roof to go over them for privacy that way when chicks hatch they are already on the floor, you could leave her where she is for now and like a day or 2 before the hatch starts then move her to the dog crate and keep her and chicks in it till all have hatched and she is ready to bring them out, which is usually 24-36 hrs after hatch. Or wait till they start hatching then move or wait till all have hatched then move but then you risk the first hatches could fall out of the nest.
I've had several of my broody's nest up high. 3 feet was about the highest, and I have one doing that now. I try to move them after the chicks hatch, after the hatch, and before she is ready to leave. A few times my timing was right. On the 2 times it was off, all was ok. Mama coaxes the chicks down. I watched it happen once. "Mama" one of my current broody's did just that, and all the chicks got down ok. Still not my prefered method, but Mama didn't seem to mind it at all.
Good luck!
OK, heres the deal. MY brooder box (that I wanted to use as a broody box) is not in the coop, its on my covered porch. I do have a large dog kennel that I could make into a broody box. Other than that, she is in the nest right now in a raised box. Its like 3.5 feet off the ground. I can't put the brooder box in the coop or run. I can fit the large kennel in the run or coop. If she needs to be penned up for a while I can do that, but does she eventually need to be able to leave the box? I mean, there should be enough room for her to get up and move around and have food/water in either one of my broody box options, but does she need more room to get away from the nest or not?
And for food, I'm not sure she has left her nest AT ALL. When I move her, should I put the food and water really close to her, or further away so she has to get up to get it?
You need to put her food and water far enough away that she has to at least stand up and walk a little to eat and drink. I hope someone who has brooded inside a dog kennel will speak up about if you can leave her or not inside of it. I haven't removed mine from the coop and I had 9 broodys this past spring and summer. you deff. don't want her to hatch her chicks 3.5 ft. up, i put all my nest boxes on the floor and my dh built a slopped roof to go over them for privacy that way when chicks hatch they are already on the floor, you could leave her where she is for now and like a day or 2 before the hatch starts then move her to the dog crate and keep her and chicks in it till all have hatched and she is ready to bring them out, which is usually 24-36 hrs after hatch. Or wait till they start hatching then move or wait till all have hatched then move but then you risk the first hatches could fall out of the nest.
I've had several of my broody's nest up high. 3 feet was about the highest, and I have one doing that now. I try to move them after the chicks hatch, after the hatch, and before she is ready to leave. A few times my timing was right. On the 2 times it was off, all was ok. Mama coaxes the chicks down. I watched it happen once. "Mama" one of my current broody's did just that, and all the chicks got down ok. Still not my prefered method, but Mama didn't seem to mind it at all.
Good luck!
