Questions about letting a broody hen hatch out some eggs

[happymom99]

Hello,
I just started my first flock in May and my Wyandotte is broody. I found someone who will sell me fertile eggs so I would like to try letting her hatch them.

I have 7 hens and they share two nestboxes. She is in one of them now and she is growling whenever anyone tries to go into the other one, but they are all going anyway and just laying. Anyway, should I just leave her in there and put the eggs under her or can I move her? I'd rather she doesn't hatch them there so if it is ok for me to move her, I'd like to. Does anyone have any tips or tricks about this?

Thank you so much!

CJ

 

[silkielover5]

move her at night and mark the eggs so you know what ones shes hatching.

 

[justin24]

move her and let her hatch some babies

 

[Southernbelle]

Be careful, moving a broody often breaks them of their broodiness. If you're going to try moving her, I'd advise moving her and if she stays broody in the new place, then get her some eggs to sit on, otherwise you run the risk of her abandoning partially incubated eggs.

I often leave them where they are and just mark the eggs, so if one of the other hens lays in her nest, you can remove the unmarked egg. Or maybe you can block off the nest so that the other hens can't access it.

 

[poseygrace]

Although it's ideal to move her, you can leave her in the nestbox and just let them set there. Do mark the eggs though, so you can tell who is dropping off new ones! They love to do that, I read somewhere it's a way to make sure their genes are being passed on too.

I moved my hen and babies once the chicks had hatched so they would have their own pen and run. I moved them at 2 days old, and did it at night. It worked great.

 

[artsyrobin]

go read this thread- having a broody simplifies so much!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=457488

 

[Patricia Jane]

Quote:
I left mine in the nesting box too and blocked off the nest box and a larger area around it. The others didn't seem to mind laying in the other boxes. I'm assuming this is her first brood. I only suggest that you may want to have a brooder set up just in case she decideds it's too much for her. Mine was a great mom for the first 4 wks then decided she wanted to be foot loose and fancy free. I read that it can happen on their frist brood. Good luck. It's a lot of fun.

 

[Wildflower_VA]

Quote:
I left mine in the nesting box too and blocked off the nest box and a larger area around it. The others didn't seem to mind laying in the other boxes. I'm assuming this is her first brood. I only suggest that you may want to have a brooder set up just in case she decideds it's too much for her. Mine was a great mom for the first 4 wks then decided she wanted to be foot loose and fancy free. I read that it can happen on their frist brood. Good luck. It's a lot of fun.

Four weeks is about average for the broody to mother the chicks. She has taught them enough to make it on their own. Seldom do they mother them past six weeks except in the case of silkies.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

It might be 'safer' to block out the others and encourage them to lay elsewhere, if your set up allows this, if she's true broody she won't leave the nest except for once a day, and then for half an hour or so..are the other hens laying on top of her? If it's her first go around I would worry about upsetting her more than the other hens?

 

[Patricia Jane]

Quote:
I left mine in the nesting box too and blocked off the nest box and a larger area around it. The others didn't seem to mind laying in the other boxes. I'm assuming this is her first brood. I only suggest that you may want to have a brooder set up just in case she decideds it's too much for her. Mine was a great mom for the first 4 wks then decided she wanted to be foot loose and fancy free. I read that it can happen on their frist brood. Good luck. It's a lot of fun.

Four weeks is about average for the broody to mother the chicks. She has taught them enough to make it on their own. Seldom do they mother them past six weeks except in the case of silkies.

Didn't know that. Seems to me thats a little early. However I had to put a heat lamp in the coop so they could keep warm. It was still too cold for them to stay in the coop without one. I asked here and was told they were too little to be without a heat source. Thanks for letting me know.