Separating the broody or not separating?

[chickbird]

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you need to move them at night and they don't even know it, i just moved one last night. if you leave them with other layers, the other layers will just lay eggs in the nest with the broody hen.

 

[triplepurpose]

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you need to move them at night and they don't even know it, i just moved one last night. if you leave them with other layers, the other layers will just lay eggs in the nest with the broody hen.

In my case I did move Broody at night. But she wasn't fooled for a second. Maybe the new nest looked too different? Dark Cornish are especially cunning and clever though too.

 

[kano]

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you need to move them at night and they don't even know it, i just moved one last night. if you leave them with other layers, the other layers will just lay eggs in the nest with the broody hen.

In my case I did move Broody at night. But she wasn't fooled for a second. Maybe the new nest looked too different? Dark Cornish are especially cunning and clever though too.

....I ALWAYS separate the broody. Leaving her in the common pen it's always a mess. To erase her instinct to go back to the previous nest, you have to keep her covered (with a lid on her nest.;the idea is to keep it very dark) for one day and one nigth. Then I open it.

 

[Tropical Chook]

I haven't bothered separating mine in the past, but then again, I always have a few broody hens. Well, I used to have until my most recent experience.........

One broody in a nest with her eggs, another joins her in the nest, and then another. So, I then had three broodies in one nest, and with only one clutch of eggs. Anyway, some of the remaining hen would still manage to squeeze in there to lay their eggs, so before long, all three broodies were in full time employment. Even with the nest box being so crammed, not to mention the odd cockerel that was using it at night as well, only one egg got broken. When it came to hatch time, two hen decided the babies were theirs and left the nest with the chicks. A ferw days later, another fuzzy butt arrived, and the minute it jumped out of the nest, it was adopted by one of the others. This went on for about a week and a half, and I was amazed to see just the one broody sticking to her job of hatching while the other two were adopting them as they arrived. It was like a fuzzy butt production line

Now my problem is all three have stopped being broody, and have once again proven to be great mothers, but they have also been very generous and shared their babies with my other hens. So, now I have all my hen, apart from one, walking about with one or two chicks in tow. May sound sweet, and yes, it does look sweet, but it also means I have to buy eggs for breakfast

I'm busy with some coop extension work at the moment, and as soon as I'm done, I will be separating all the hens from their adopted chicks until they resume laying. Also, from here on I'll be separating any broodies from the flock, although they will still be able to see each other. I'm simply adding on another section to my open coop/run specifically for that purpose. I also use movable nesting boxes so I can just move the nest to the maternity section

And here I was, thinking I would just keep four or five hens for fresh eggs. Not even a year later, and the place resembles a mini poultry farm and not a fresh egg in sight

At least I'll be eating some great tasting chicken though, and hey, organic free range chicken costs more than eggs in the store so I'm not complaining.

Now, I'm off to carry on with the current round of coop extension work. My goal for today is to get at least half of the roof on and secured, and perhaps even get one or two perches set up so all the squabbling can stop at night (or at least that's what I'm hoping for).

Will post pics once their home is finished.

 

[triplepurpose]

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In my case I did move Broody at night. But she wasn't fooled for a second. Maybe the new nest looked too different? Dark Cornish are especially cunning and clever though too.

....I ALWAYS separate the broody. Leaving her in the common pen it's always a mess. To erase her instinct to go back to the previous nest, you have to keep her covered (with a lid on her nest.;the idea is to keep it very dark) for one day and one nigth. Then I open it.

Interesting! I wouldn't have thought of doing something that "extreme," but that makes a lot of sense to me intuitively. What about food and water--I guess they'll be ok in the dark without for that long, since they'll be "sleeping"? Hopefully, with my current set-up, I won't have to try anything like this again, but that's good to know...

Thanks!

 

[triplepurpose]

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Sounds like a nightmare of a mess to me, but I'm glad it worked out for you!