Gah, decided on fertile eggs for broody hen...

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soloequestrian

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… that are travelling through the post as I type. I found someone who wants the cockerels back so hopefully all will work out well!
I have questions though as a newbie at this:
- my broody hen has chosen to sit on a fairly damp bit of old straw in the old railway carriage that we have for storage (the roof has started to leak hence the damp). The book I have says that damp is good for eggs but information online doesn't support this. Should I swap out the damp straw for clean?
- the carriage isn't the best place for chicks so I would like to move broody and her eggs. I've inserted the base of a cat transport box under her so now she is in her chosen place but I could easily put the lid on the box and move her elsewhere. What point should I do this at? Now, just before the eggs arrive, once she is (hopefully) happily sitting the eggs or just after they hatch?
- I plan to have the maternity ward in an small enclosure inside the bigger run (I usually use it for introducing new hens to the flock). It's about 80 cm cubed - is that a good size for the first few weeks of the chick's lives?
Any other advice gratefully received!
 
re moving the nest-it entirely depends on the hen, some are fine with it apparently but I've never had any luck moving them before the chicks are hatched.

just give her more straw-she'll make her own nest and regulate how much humidity the eggs need

make sure she is safe from predators (including corvids and stoats) while sitting

80cm is not big enough imho, for the first couple of weeks it will be fine but after that they need more-mine get a 10 ft x 4 ft secure run which is moved often until they are big enough to not be of interest to cats and ravens. mum will teach them how to forage and a bigger run will help her build her muscles up again (sittng takes alot out of them)


I've had very mixed results from postal eggs so you could either get quite a good hatch or nothing at all although a broody will give them their best chance.
 
Great, thank you. She is sitting them now and seems very happy. She should be safe from corvids but I suspect a determined mustelid could get in to her - she has been there for about a month now though so it's probably not worth the risk of moving her. I was thinking of waiting until nearer hatching time but perhaps I should wait until they actually hatch. I can put the lid on the cat box and move the whole nest so the other option would be to move it and put the gate on the cat box for a while so she couldn't physically leave the nest. The little run would just be for the first couple of weeks - I can build something bigger after that.
I really hope they hatch, quite excited about it!
 
I have no issue moving mine but mine are silkies and naked necks and they try and hatch rocks! What does cause problems is moving them later on near hatch day. No one tolerates that, but in the early days of broodiness so long as its dark they settle again/

Once hatched mine go in a rabbit hutch and run and by week 4 are out foraging in the day time, but mine are in my garden so low risk.

I tend to use posted eggs. Leave them to stand for 48 hours before you put them under her. Gives them the best chance of hatching. I've just had 4 out of 6 hatch from the last lot that were posted, but I have had 0 hatch previously. Its luck of the draw with the post office I'm afraid. Good luck!
 
I would do exactly as you said, lid on the box and move her to where you want her to go and leave her to settle. Make sure she has access to food and water though and I'd be feeind extras to her. Mine like live crickets and meal worms etc. A month is a long time to sit, esp as she now has another 3 weeks to go. Be aware she may get bored and walk off, so have a plan B in mind
 
If she has been sitting for a month her broodiness may well be wearing a bit thin so I would leave her where she is. I recommend candling an egg or two after a week, in the middle of the night, to see if they are developing. If not I would get her up and about. Check for mites in the nest, too.
 
yes, bear in mind she'll have been sitting for a long time-I've also had issues with the rest of the flock bullying a broody when I reintroduced her so something to be aware might happen and at this time of year, she may well go straight into moult after chicks have grown so some additional protein throughout would be advisable.

some broodies are very good at sitting and looking after themselves (eating and drinking) some are not. If you get very hot weather keep an eye on her.
 
Hm, a bit conflicted about moving her now. At the moment I can get at her easily. Throughout her broody period I've been lifting her off her nest twice a day and putting her near food and water - she always has a huge drink, feeds for a bit and then goes back to the nest. I was going to reduce this to once per day now she has the eggs. I'm not sure if she would get herself up at all and if I move her to the maternity run I won't be able to get in to lift her off the nest (it's a fenced in section under the main coop). Maybe I should look to build an alternative maternity run that's more accessible?
 
TBH if she is pretty safe and the nest is clean I would leave her where she is. Are they bantam eggs under her? If so they will internally pip day19/20. I would use chicken wire or something to keep other hens away from her while they hatch and then move her when they are hatched, upright and dry. Day 22 probably. Adult laying hens shouldn't eat chick crumb if it contains coccidisiats (spelling!?) so she will need to be kept seperate until they can go on to Growers pellets.
 
I've never had to get a hen off eggs to get them to feed, have always left them to it-you'll see if she has from any fresh broody poop laying about. My silkies were great, off the nest twice a day, 100% hatch rate, came back into lay 6 weeks after hatching and would kick the growers out once they were old enough.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
I've never had to get a hen off eggs to get them to feed, have always left them to it-you'll see if she has from any fresh broody poop laying about. My silkies were great, off the nest twice a day, 100% hatch rate, came back into lay 6 weeks after hatching and would kick the growers out once they were old enough.
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I don't use broodies that don't look after themselves, but with wyandottes I have plenty of spares!
 
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