Should I move my broody hen to hatch her chicks?

[Firsttimehens1234]

I have a broody hen who is currently on day 16 and who has been laying in a nesting box with the flock right now, she is laying in a nesting box that is too high up from the ground and if a chick is to fall out of it, it will die so I don’t really want to rush that

Right now she is a great broody, but it is both her and my first time having a broody hen and being a broody hen.

In march a lady hatched some chicks for me and on day 17 she moved the hen into a broody house so she could hatch in peace and that worked for her, but is it safe to move my hen and is it a good idea?

I have a brooder for her and the chicks already set up away from the flock and my original plan was to move her into it on day 17 when it’s dark but after I read other peoples experience some said that it Brooke their hens broodyness and I wound like for that not to happen but I don’t know how she will react bc it’s is her first time

 

[Theorrin]

You can move the broody hen as long as you do it at night in the dark as to not disturb her. It's what i do for my broodys and gives them their peace and quiet.

 

[Chicken Heel]

I too was concerned about chicks possibly getting injured from falling/jumping out of the nest. But I have one mother bantam that jumps to the coop floor (nest is about 4 feet off the floor) and then calls her chicks to join her. It is something to behold and none of the chicks have been injured. And I saw a PBS documentary on ducks a few years ago where a momma wood duck came out of the nest in a hole about 40 feet up a tree and her ducklings jumped out behind her. Once again, truly amazing how resilient God's creatures are.

 

[Firsttimehens1234]

I too was concerned about chicks possibly getting injured from falling/jumping out of the nest. But I have one mother bantam that jumps to the coop floor (nest is about 4 feet off the floor) and then calls her chicks to join her. It is something to behold and none of the chicks have been injured. And I saw a PBS documentary on ducks a few years ago where a momma wood duck came out of the nest in a hole about 40 feet up a tree and her ducklings jumped out behind her. Once again, truly amazing how resilient God's creatures are.

The nesting boxes my hen is laying in is about 4 feet of the ground and I have a hen who is not particularly nice to new hens so I don’t feel that it’s safe enough in the coop for the chicks and mama but I think I’m gonna move her into a little crate tomorrow night and let her stay in there for the night and see if she will settle

But chickens and broody hens are amazing and I can’t wait to see the life that my chickens created

 

[Chicken Heel]

The nesting boxes my hen is laying in is about 4 feet of the ground and I have a hen who is not particularly nice to new hens so I don’t feel that it’s safe enough in the coop for the chicks and mama but I think I’m gonna move her into a little crate tomorrow night and let her stay in there for the night and see if she will settle

But chickens and broody hens are amazing and I can’t wait to see the life that my chickens created

I wish you good luck. A momma hen with diddles has been my weakness for about 60 of my 62+ years on this earth. My education in chicken math began very early.

 

[NorthernMIFlock]

My broody hens always choose the high and most popular nest to set for 21 days. I always worry about braking their broodiness, especially when I know the eggs are so developed. It’s kind of a pain, but on day 19-20 I make a cardboard “fence” around her nest-she can still get out if needed, but if a baby hatches during the night, it won’t fall out. As soon as at least 1 hatches, I move her to the floor of the coop in a make shift nursery with small water dish and chick crumble. This is the 5th year I’ve done this and it works great. The other hens get used to the babies being a part of the flock. Good luck!

 

[Firsttimehens1234]

My broody hens always choose the high and most popular nest to set for 21 days. I always worry about braking their broodiness, especially when I know the eggs are so developed. It’s kind of a pain, but on day 19-20 I make a cardboard “fence” around her nest-she can still get out if needed, but if a baby hatches during the night, it won’t fall out. As soon as at least 1 hatches, I move her to the floor of the coop in a make shift nursery with small water dish and chick crumble. This is the 5th year I’ve done this and it works great. The other hens get used to the babies being a part of the flock. Good luck!

Thank your for the answer, that’s a great idea. Have you tried this method on first time broodys?

 

[NorthernMIFlock]

Thank your for the answer, that’s a great idea. Have you tried this method on first time broodys?

Yes, both of my first timers did well and their brooding for the unhatched eggs was good.

 

[GigitheBackyardHerbilist]

I too was concerned about chicks possibly getting injured from falling/jumping out of the nest. But I have one mother bantam that jumps to the coop floor (nest is about 4 feet off the floor) and then calls her chicks to join her. It is something to behold and none of the chicks have been injured. And I saw a PBS documentary on ducks a few years ago where a momma wood duck came out of the nest in a hole about 40 feet up a tree and her ducklings jumped out behind her. Once again, truly amazing how resilient God's creatures are.

I'm going through the same thing! And I can't get to my hens at night. Bad idea of extra nesting boxes. I removed about half the eggs after a raccoon attack, but I have two broody hens and they had about 40 eggs. I cleaned up the broken and changed the bedding. Let them go trying to remove extra eggs. Many seemed to have died. One finally hatched. I found it when I went to clean it the boxes and move them into a brooding pen. There was a baby chick. Should I build a ramp? Wait to see if any more hatch? How long to I keep them separate from the flock after I move them? Or should I not separate them?

 

[NorthernMIFlock]

I'm going through the same thing! And I can't get to my hens at night. Bad idea of extra nesting boxes. I removed about half the eggs after a raccoon attack, but I have two broody hens and they had about 40 eggs. I cleaned up the broken and changed the bedding. Let them go trying to remove extra eggs. Many seemed to have died. One finally hatched. I found it when I went to clean it the boxes and move them into a brooding pen. There was a baby chick. Should I build a ramp? Wait to see if any more hatch? How long to I keep them separate from the flock after I move them? Or should I not separate them?

Oh my how sweet! Is momma taking care of this chick or still sitting on eggs? If the ramp is very tiny they might be able to do it, but it’s too tiny to navigate a ramp to a tall nest box. Can you move them to a safe dog crate on the floor? I have never separated my broody mommas from the flock and it has gone well each time. Mommas will keep the babies close to her and the other hens will learn very quickly to give the new family lots of space. Integration is built right into her having the babies with the rest of the flock.