what to do with this broody hen

[sweetielover]

I have a broody hen that i have tried to move 2 times out of the laying boxes. When i move her and her eggs into a small seperated pen all she does the whole time is get off her eggs and walk around the cage outside and cluck to the rooster. When i water and feed her in there she run out and right back to the laying box. I juat gave up on movin her and she haant got off ofbthe laying box in 3 weeks. The boxes are 3 feet off the ground so hopefully when the eggs hatch they will stay in there. I dont even know how many eggs she has got? Any ideas on the boxes being far from the ground? Also a week ago we juat had another hen start to be broody. She does the same exact thing. Help!:/

 

[karlamaria]

I put mine in a rabbit hutch, she did the same thing yours did so I locked her in. she settled right down and hatched some cute chicks. she is broody again and I can not seem to break her, so she is in a dog crate tonight as she refused to let the others sleep on the roosts because I blocked the nest box she wants in so badly.she was so mad she kept jumping on the roosts and pecking the others. I made her stay out all day and she was not happy. broody now for weeks.

 

[sweetielover]

Well what about the food an water thing. I haveba rabit cage that is not to big or small that i could put her in. But i cant have her running loose everytime i feed and water. She doesnt ever settle down. But hopefully anyday we will have chicks. But hopefully not flying or diving chicks.

 

[karlamaria]

Well what about the food an water thing. I haveba rabit cage that is not to big or small that i could put her in. But i cant have her running loose everytime i feed and water. She doesnt ever settle down. But hopefully anyday we will have chicks. But hopefully not flying or diving chicks.

I fed her and watered her only once a day, you mean you can not do this? will you not be able to catch her once you put her down to feed her? If she is not settling down maybe she is not so broody? once mine are on eggs she is setting on them, no matter what. and when I take her out to poop and eat ,drink, I go and pick her up and take her back to the hutch.

 

[karlamaria]

you can also put food and water in the hutch with her. are you saying she will not sit on the eggs once you move them? if she wants on the nest she is on and you can not move her, then let her be, once she has the chicks you can move her and the chicks to a crate or hutch.

 

[sweetielover]

Well mine is a cage. I just fill the water up and food up and put it in there. She will also have a box in there. But she tries to run out when u open the door and go strait to the laying boxes to set on the no there anymore eggs. But she is definitly broody.

 

[sweetielover]

Yes she wont sit on the eggs once i have moved them. But im afraid that when they hatch they r gonna not b able to go with there mom or will fall out and die.

 

[karlamaria]

you can try this, ( I did this as I have large nest boxes ) feed and water her and lift her out to poop and put screen back up. I I had to move her to the hutch only because I had my coop and pen redone and made much larger so I had to move her. the chicks can not fall out and are safe . once she has them I would move her and the chicks to a nice nest in a crate.now that the coop and run are done, the nest boxes are lower to the ground so I will not have this trouble next time. I had the nest box made way big in case she has more to sit on in the spring , and I will put wire on the front of it to keep her and the chicks safe until there ready to explore and can get back into the nest box. ( its 1 foot off the ground. I also ordered 2 real nice deep nest boxes off ebay to add to my walls in case anyone else wants to go broody. Im putting these also 1 foot off the ground.

my last nest box was 3 feet off the ground, so the chicks would have come to great harm. and not able to get back into the nest. the mesh wire would have been great if I had not decided to inlarge the coop and tear the old one apart.

 

[sweetielover]

So should i just leave her there till they hatch

 

[sweetielover]

And thanks for all the help.