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I would put her in a nest away from the others, or partition off a little corner for her. Do you have a dog carrier you could put her in? I have used just a kitty litter pan as a nest, and just put wire around a little area. She just gets up once a day to poop and eat and drink. She really does not need much room.
She would be fine to brood in the hen house, if you watch that she returns to her nest (and not another), but you would just have to be vigilant about collecting eggs every couple hours for 3 weeks. You know, though, when she hatches those chicks .... the other girls could attempt to kill them. It is best to give her her own space.
No, she will not quit brooding 3 or 4 days early. Heck, some broodies just won't give up, and will sit and sit and sit!
Oh thank you Kathy! That gives me hope! My plan is to [quietly] knock out the divider between her box and the one next door, and then put a hinged screen door type of an affair on the outside of that bank of nest boxes. I'll leave the south end one open to the rest of the girls for laying as they are really jazzed about this newer set of nesting boxes. I don't want to take that away from them.
Giving GeeGee two compartments to herself should give me ample room to put in both feed and water containers, without compromising her ability to get up and stretch a bit whenever she wants. Overall about 36 inches long, by 16 inches deep and 16 inches tall. I should think that would be large enough, don't you?
And nosey little Maggie is just going to have to content herself with looking through the screen at GeeGee, sitting all proud and happy on her nest!!
Oh Thank You! Thank You! Thank You Kathy! This really does give me great hope for her. Hmmmm...I might even slip an extra egg or two into her nest tomorrow!
I say almost.....not quite there yet. I have a DH to get one past first!
