What do I do with my broody hen?

[fowlfriend98]

So one of my hens has gone broody in a nesting box and I would really like her to hatch the eggs but the problem is I have a few chickens that eat eggs and they've already eaten a few when she gets up to get water and food. What do I do?? I was thinking maybe I could set up a spot in the basement and she could hatch them down there where they would be safe when she gets up to get water and food, is this a good idea? Or she i just leave her there and hope for the best?

 

[happyhens1972]

In my opinion, a broody is always best seperated from the flock so she can brood in peace and quiet, without other hens disturbing her and without her obsessively adding any nearby eggs to her brood.

The basement sounds like a good option but if you are going to move her, set up the area you want her to use beforehand, complete with ready made nest and predator proof run (you may get visiting rats) then move her and her eggs into it at night, in the dark, as she is less likely to be upset by the move and abandon her eggs.

 

[fowlfriend98]

I have a really big dog cage, would that be a good thing to put her and the eggs in?

 

[happyhens1972]

Yes that would be fine....but how far apart are the bars? Are they sufficiently narrow to stop the chicks escaping once they've hatched? If not, an easy solution would to be to tape a cardboard 'skirt' round the bars, about a foot in height. By the time they are big enough to jump a foot, they should be too big for the bars.

You need to consider what you will do about re-introduction though. If you plan to put her back with the others soon after hatch, you may need a period of time where she is in the pen but inside the dog cage to re-familiarise her with the rest of the flock and vice versa.

If you plan to keep her away until the chicks are bigger, you will need something bigger than a dog crate within a couple of weeks of hatch. Chicks grow at an astonishing rate and seem to outgrow everything very quickly!1