She thinks she's safe.

[currycat]

My Buf Orp. hen has been laying in a planter box, it's obvious she is broody. We have 6 hens and 1 roo that free range all day and then are locked in a large run with access to hen house. This last wk. we brought 6 new chicks home and have them in a small hen house/brooder on our front patio so we can watch their antics from inside the house. All the hens and roo have been very interested, get up and look in the viewing window and watch the chicks. No sign of a broody hen till we brought home the chicks. Don't know if that triggered it, or it's just her clock.
We have 2 big planters, like 3feet highX2X3 that has shrubs in them. They are in the open, to rain and everything else. We get a lot of rain, this is SW WA. and at night we see the occasional raccoon, possum, mt.lion. Not safe out there at night, they have to be locked up. I've read some of the other answers, move her at night etc. I'm just not comfortable leaving her out there till after dark. What should I do ? She will be 1 yr in May.

 

[paddock36]

Are you letting her set on eggs or are you trying to break her broodyness?

 

[sheaviance1]

You could move her, or you could construct a temporary fence around her and leave her be.

 

[sheaviance1]

Oh, I forgot to say

 

[currycat]

I put a phony egg in a nesting box in the hen house, she has not sat on it. Fencing in the planter is not an option, if for no other reason than it rains here a lot. We got 10 in. last June, it's a rare day that it doesn't get wet at least once, yesterday everything was covered in ice in the am. Some days the planters have standing water in them for several hours. This is my first experience with a broody hen, had no idea Wilma could be so stubborn.

 

[tuesdays chicks]

can you move the planter into the hen house?

 

[snowflake]

I would just move her to the coop or were ever you want her to set. she will eather stop setting or adjust. I had to move a hen once as it was not a safe place, she decided she wasn't really ready to set and went off to join the others. Moved a couple of hens last summer that had hatched a brood. they weren't happy but couldn't get out to take the chicks back to the large coop and adjusted well, after about 2 hrs. some times you have to do what is best for the hen. I also moved a hen with her nest of eggs. she was content as long as she had her nest full of eggs...........good luck!

 

[currycat]

Moving the planter is not possible, it's 3'6" tall and looks 2' wide by 3' long. With the soils and shrubs and all the wood I'm sure it weighs hundreds of pounds.
I took her out of the planter 3 evenings in a row, and boy did she complain, really told me off, but I guess she's given up on the planter. No egg in the planter today and she did not hang around the hen house. Guess I could have waited to see if it sorted out, but I'm new at this.
So thank you all for suggestions. I'm still learning.