I just remembered something I thought was cool this morning while I was thinking about Smokey and her various nest locations.
When she went broody it was inside the main coop in a nestbox. She would spend hours sitting in the nest box laying her eggs but return to the roost at night to sleep. She did that for 3 to 4 days. Then on the 4th day she remained in the nest box and didn't move at night.
So realizing she was broody, I moved her to a little separate coop outside the main one that I purchased for broody hens & chicks. Then I felt it wasn't safe since I hadn't put wire on the bottom or closed up leaks from the weather, so that same day I moved her to her final nesting area inside a wired off section of the main coop. So that was 3 different nest areas she had been in a very short period of time. I did all the moves during the day.
When the chicks had hatched and were 5 weeks old - Smokey started to lay again. I noticed the 1st day she was trying to find a place to lay - she darted from the inside the main coop to the little coop and to the side entrance where she had ultimately hatched her chicks. It was almost as if she was looking for that perfect nest in which she remembered hatching her babies. She ended up laying her first few days worth of eggs on the floor in the coop near where the babies had hatched (the wire has since been removed).
Lately she's spent more and more time sitting in the main coop nest box to lay each day. And I'm thinking she may be pondering starting the broody cycle all over again!
When she went broody it was inside the main coop in a nestbox. She would spend hours sitting in the nest box laying her eggs but return to the roost at night to sleep. She did that for 3 to 4 days. Then on the 4th day she remained in the nest box and didn't move at night.
So realizing she was broody, I moved her to a little separate coop outside the main one that I purchased for broody hens & chicks. Then I felt it wasn't safe since I hadn't put wire on the bottom or closed up leaks from the weather, so that same day I moved her to her final nesting area inside a wired off section of the main coop. So that was 3 different nest areas she had been in a very short period of time. I did all the moves during the day.
When the chicks had hatched and were 5 weeks old - Smokey started to lay again. I noticed the 1st day she was trying to find a place to lay - she darted from the inside the main coop to the little coop and to the side entrance where she had ultimately hatched her chicks. It was almost as if she was looking for that perfect nest in which she remembered hatching her babies. She ended up laying her first few days worth of eggs on the floor in the coop near where the babies had hatched (the wire has since been removed).
Lately she's spent more and more time sitting in the main coop nest box to lay each day. And I'm thinking she may be pondering starting the broody cycle all over again!
