should i just stand there and HOLD her on the nest!?!

[ohiofarmgirl]

for heavens sakes! my broody little banty hen is driving me nuts. she has made two, thats TWO nests in the egglayingboxes in the last 10 days... i've moved her twice to the brooder coops. and then she gets up! she wont set the nests there! its driving me nuts!

yes i did it under cover of darkness... we were so stealthy about it we even played the theme song to mission impossible. this morning - she was up running back and forth in the brooder coop and when i opened the door she ran like the devil was chasing her. this was after TWO FULL days of sitting in 'the zone.'

i've cleaned the brooder coop, covered her, she has everything she needs.. what what what?

should i just stand there and hold her down? staple her? bungee cords? superglue?

she keeps using up all the eatin' eggs by making nests - and then leaving them!

i need professional help, please

 

[Chickenaddict]

If you want her to set on eggs put her in a secluded area with no opportunity to get off the nest and find a new one. Chances are the others are giving her the boot to lay an egg in the nest she was on therefor she makes a new nest. If you want her to snap out of it..... good luck lol I am battling the rboodies right now myself and they are winning!

 

[walkswithdog]

Put her up in a dog crate or something to settle her down. She wants her nest in the other place, but if you give her no choice usually they settle in. Just let her out twice a day min to poop and stretch.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

sigh....

the brooder coop is pretty small and when i cover it (not too hot for her) its really quiet. i've been doing the old trick of just feeding her scratch.. man. the thing is - i WANT a broody hen!

the last two broodies have been disastrous - i only ended up with one chick and now both of the hens are fighting like demons. so the momma+chick are still in the brooder coop and the other hen is just plain nuts.

guess i'll go out and chase that little banty around and put her back.

the first time we did this (and i'm using a different brooder coop this time) she just got up, covered the nest, and sat in a corner. she even picked at one of the eggs!

very frustrating. i guess just send me your broody gals! hee hee hee

say - walks with dog - hows them sheep? or where they goats? i'm eager to hear how your dogs do with them.. if they 'hard' them or 'herd' them

 

[hinkjc]

She may just not be truly ready to set. Nothing you can do to convince her. Are you sure she's not just laying an egg when you see her on a "nest"? Some hens will sit on their egg all day with no intention of hatching them.

 

[pbjmaker]

Good question - I had a few broodies like that last week. We got a hold of a small coop for free so we put 4 of the 7 broodies in there. The next morning they were sqwaking, pacing and holding picket signs that said "We will not be moved!"

We opened the door for a poop break and they all four made a bee-line for the other coop and settled back in there with a little "HMPH!" and upturned beaks at the other coop.

Could you just put some wire in front of the nest she is in? I would also mark whatever eggs you want her to sit on and then just take away any fresh eggs.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

We opened the door for a poop break and they all four made a bee-line for the other coop and settled back in there with a little "HMPH!" and upturned beaks at the other coop.

this is hilarious....

no she really wants to set. just not where i want her too. she sat on 8 eggs in the laybox for two days straight and didnt even move. not once. and sat there all zoombie-eyed.

i could try and coop her in.. but the boxes are up off the floor and when the hatching starts it could be a disaster. also the first time she was there Henny, my ridiculous white leghorn, sat on the broody's head and had her egg right there. the broody just tucked it under her when Henny was done.

but good idea about marking the eggs tho..​

 

[CindyS]

It just may not work to move her. some hens will set anywhere and some know where there nest is and wont set anywhere else! (actually she is the smarter type hen, in nature it is required for mamma hen or pheasant or quail or turkey to KNOW where to go back to) not to just set on an egg because they happen to find one. Many people just let mamma hen set where she wants, give her chosen eggs, mark them, and check daily for newly laid eggs.

 

[walkswithdog]

I don't move mine, and their nest ledge is four feet off the floor. When they hatch and they start getting around I just set all the chicks on the floor and momma joins them and broods them there. I don't isolate my broodies and let things sort themselves out.

If she can't grow a brain and set, I take the eggs and incubate them and pull every egg out there until she gets over it.

I had one abandon nests after partially brooding twice, then the third time finally sat to FINISH thank God.

Sometimes it will take them awhile to decide to just sit their butts down.

 

[pbjmaker]

We tried moving ours because the coop floor has gotten crowded (anyone wanna buy some started chicks?) and we already had one chick accidently killed by our big clumsy BCM roo. He likes to keep track of all the broodies and we are fairly sure he stepped on a chick. We have seen him step on the broodies also. So we thought using the other coop would help. Apparently they like to be stepped on by the big dufus.