What do I do about others eggs in my broody's nest?

[ThePolishPrincess]

Yeah, and don't use crayon. Those fade super quickly. I'd also suggest separating her or giving her 'her' spot. If she's spooked off the nest or decides she likes another one better she'll never actually see chicks.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Think extra large kitty litter box. If I move it to a dog crate, there should be room for her to get out of the nestbox and move around inside the crate, to poop, eat, whatever. With the crate, there will be room to add a food and water dish too.

I'm thinking once she has her own food dish I will feed her the "black rooster" instead of the layer feed. The black rooster is lower in protein than the layer feed (13% vs. 16%) but it is higher in fat. I think she's going to need the fat.

 

[NellaBean]

Ha ha ha. I had 8 broodies at once this spring and was up to 5 broodies this winter. Yay me? I am currently down to 1 hen with chicks and 1 hen on eggs. I booted all the other moms back to the big flock and grouped their kids together in brooders. I can only handle so many broodies when it is 20 degrees out, you know?

May as well start building or buying broody hutches now.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Think extra large kitty litter box. If I move it to a dog crate, there should be room for her to get out of the nestbox and move around inside the crate, to poop, eat, whatever. With the crate, there will be room to add a food and water dish too.

I'm thinking once she has her own food dish I will feed her the "black rooster" instead of the layer feed. The black rooster is lower in protein than the layer feed (13% vs. 16%) but it is higher in fat. I think she's going to need the fat.

But what about the chicks? They may not be able to get in and out.

Oh! Do yourself a favor! Put the crate where you don't have to crawl on the floor to get to it. I have one coop where the floor is 3 feet up. I use that for broody cages, makes my back much happier. Once the chicks are able to defend themselves and are familiar with the crate as a safe home, I put it on ground level and prop the door so they can haul butt back in when the hens get after them.

I'm not familiar with "black rooster". I just feed layer to the hen and gradually swich her over to starter about day 16 or so. Once they are out and about the starter stay in the crate and the layer is in the run, up high so the chicks can't reach it.

 

[NellaBean]

I have used the large kitty litter boxes before and they are great for SITTING....not for actually raising chicks. When using the bottom and top together (if covered) the chicks get out and can't figure out how to get back in. If using only the bottom, I have lost 4 chicks to them falling out and getting wedged between the box and the wall, or freezing because they can't get back in. I like them for sitting, but will now always transfer them to a simple nest of hay for hatching and raising chicks.

 

[gritsar]

Okay, here's the plan - I'll move her and her nestbox to the crate at floor level until just a few days before hatch. Then I'll remove the box and just have her in the crate. Sound like a plan?

Ranchy, here's the ingredients of the black rooster:

Corn, Grain Sorghum, Oats, Wheat, Wheat Middlings, Dehydrated Alfalfa
Meal, Dried Whey, Dried Skimmed Milk, Casein, Yeast Culture, Fish
Meal, Cane Molasses, Animal Fat, Calcium Carbonate, Defluorinated
Phosphate, Vitamin A Supplement, D-Activated Animal Sterol (Source of
Vitamin D3), Vitamin E Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin,
Vitamin B12, Riboflavin Supplement, Choline Chloride, Manganese
Sulfate, Iron Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Carbonate, Ferrous Sulfate,
Copper Oxide, Magnesium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate, Zinc Sulfate, DAlphatocoporal
Acetate, Soybean Meal, Wheat Bran, Rice Mill By-
Product, Vitamin A Palmitate, Popcorn, Salt and Black Oil Sunflower.

It's 13% protein. It lists corn as the first ingredient but really, when I pour it out on the ground, it doesn't seem like there's that much corn in it. They love the black rooster much more than they like layer feed.

ETA: I'll switch over to starter right before the chicks are due to hatch. My feeders are high enough in that coop that chicks shouldn't be able to reach them.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Can you fence off part of your coop? I built a broody wall that fits under the next boxes. I can pen mama and babies in there and the others can't get to them. That has worked better for me than dog crates. Some day when I build my barn I will build in some broody pens and just be done with it.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Nope, really no way to do that. How I wish! In my big coop it would be possible, but not in what now shall be called "the broody coop"

In fact, I have a fence already built that I could easily move to the brahma coop. Of course, the brahmas will never go broody

 

[Happy Chooks]

If you can section off any of your coops, I would do it and move her there now. (at night) They go into a serious trance those last few days, not to mention they get meaner than snot the last few days. (their version of lockdown I think) You can move her and the chicks back where you want them easily, once the babies hatch.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Oh, the coop I penned off is only 4x4. I fenced off half of it (2'x4'). When she is hard on broody she doesn't need a lot of space and once the babies come it helps keep them close to mama. Once they get past the first couple of days I move the divider and let mama do with them as she will.

If you have room for another wire kennel then go for it. A friend sets up folding tables down the middle of his barn and puts dog kennels on the tables. Everything is waist high and really easy to get into. If only I had a barn...