Should I move her?

[Scottishnewbie]

we bought one of those roll away nest boxes a while as we had an egg eater (dont anymore), the kind that has a black plastic tray with an opening that allows the egg to roll into a space the hens cant get to.

My problem is that our broody likes it there and is sitting on 10 eggs - which are due to hatch Thursday or Friday this week.

I gave her the eggs (d'uh!) as i didnt actually think she'd go the distance but she has proved me totally wrong - sorry girl!

anyway now my worry is that they will hatch and somehow get stuck in that area or else becuase the overall space isnt very big they might get crushed as mum moves around.

should i move her now i'm wondering? i dont want her to get all upset and go off the eggs at this late stage.

or do i just hope that i get to them in time and can move them all at the same time?

ps - she's inside the shed with the others and is quite happy but i'm planning to put mum and babies in a separate run once they've hatched.

thanks folks

[Nicos]

Is there anyway you can slip a false bottom/wall in the nesting box so as to block off the hole? ( sorry- never seen a roll away nest box)You could slip it in place when mom nips out for a drink/nosh/poop

I'd do that if you can and move her once the last of the chicks has hatched. They don't do much for the first 36 hrs apart from sit around under mom and learn about crumb and water.
I'd be tempted to wait til then.
As you say it'd be such a pity to lose 10 chicks

[RichmondHens]

As you are so close to hatching I would leave her where she is until most of the eggs have pipped or hatched. Then you can move her. I think if the hen was going to crush them she would have done so by now. Once she has even just one chick to look after and/or pipping eggs she will not get off them so you can scoop all into a box and put them where you like.

[Scottishnewbie]

nicos, yes i can stuff it full of straw - thats a good idea, thanks.

the nesting box is only big enough for one hen - looks like this Rollaway Nest Box Insert on eBid United Kingdom

and it sits inside a metal box if that makes sense?

so its only big enough for one hen at a time - presumably so they dont all stand on top of each other

[Scottishnewbie]

thanks richmondhens - if anyone knows YOU will!

[RichmondHens]

nicos, yes i can stuff it full of straw - thats a good idea, thanks.

the nesting box is only big enough for one hen - looks like this Rollaway Nest Box Insert on eBid United Kingdom

and it sits inside a metal box if that makes sense?

so its only big enough for one hen at a time - presumably so they dont all stand on top of each other

Just stuff a little straw in where the roll away hole bit is. If you fill the whole box full there is a danger any hatched chicks will get out over the top and not be able to climb back in. As it look quite deep they will all be safely contained in there. I have had chicks get out over the side of a box before now and then not get back in. Fortunately I found them before they had become too cold. What sometimes happens is the mother hen won't get off to "rescue" any escapees as she is still incubating hatching eggs. So you get a poor cold cheeping chick shouting from outside the box with mother hen ignoring it. Strange things, chickens!

[RichmondHens]

thanks richmondhens - if anyone knows YOU will!

Weeeelll ........... I still make mistakes you know! But thanks!

[Nicos]

Cor- that's a good invention isn't it??

...thanks for the link- at least I can imagine properly what peeps are talking about now!!

RH- yup- SN's right ya know- we're all learning an awful lot about chooks on here thanks to you and a few other chook experts...thank you! x

[Scottishnewbie]

so what happened? day 19 was yesterday. we were lying in bed last night and hubby says "oh i forgot to tell you, broody is off the nest"....by the time i got down to the hen house, the eggs were cold, so nothing to be done. apart from the fact that i wanted to kill hubby -why might this have happened?

i opened the eggs this morning to see if she knew something we didnt, of the 8, 2 were duds but the other 6 had perfectly formed little chicks....very sad and i'd really like to know what happened...can anyone shed any light?

[RichmondHens]

I bet you wanted to kill hubby! If the eggs had still been warm they might have had a chance if you put them under another hen or in an incubator.

But who knows why she decided to desert so late in the day. Maybe she had been disturbed by something, maybe she had just got bored. Had she been sitting a long time before you set the eggs under her? Was she a first timer who maybe didn't recognise the changes going on in the eggs (although this usually comes instinctively)? Also, does she need dusting for lice? I always give mine a thorough dusting before sitting and halfway through sitting to make sure they are as comfortable as possible.

Whatever the reason, I can understand your frustration. Don't fret over it though. You can always try again, and hope you have better luck next time.