# Hen gone broody in high nesting box-HELP



## donnaleedreams

I think one of my hens has gone broody. I've been waiting for this for 3 years! But she's in a box about 3 feet off the ground. I want to move her into a chicken tractor within the main coop, into a nesting box on the ground so that the chics will be safe. But she freaks out every time I try. I just did this at night right now and she still freaked out and will not stay on the new nest with the same eggs in it. Any help? I haven't gone through this process before.

Thanks.
Donna


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## Jessica84

Ohh I have many times lol free range chickens sounds good huh? Not when it comes to the stupid places they nest lol when did she start sitting on them? If you know then 21 days from then just check and see if they have hatched. She should sit on them a day or two longer then when the first chick hatches so at that time just get her and the chicks down. If you don't catch the timing right really not a big deal chicks are actually pretty bouncy and 3 feet isn't that high. If it's hard on the ground you could also put some straw or a deep layer of saw dust and that will give them a soft landing. But moving the nest is not going to work. You might be able to lower the nest if you can but still might make her upset so I would just leave her be


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## Ranger1

Can you just move the box at night, with her still in it?


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## donnaleedreams

It's a built-in box. But good to know the chicks should be alright. I can just wait then and check in 21 days. I want to let her raise the chicks though.... where would they sleep then after being born? Should I just move them all to the tractor with mama once they're born? Will she care for them in a new (and lower) nesting box then?

I'm afraid that I left her in the tractor last night with the new nesting box with the eggs in it. If she didn't set on them last night, I suppose those eggs will be goners, right? (It was cold last night) We've tried two different things with her, so this will be the third day since she's gone broody. I hope we can get this to work by tonight so she doesn't have to keep starting over. I'll just let her stay where she wants tonight with a new batch of eggs. (I can put the eggs from other chickens under her right? So far, she just takes over where the other chickens have layed eggs already.)

Thanks so much,
Donna


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## Jessica84

If she's not sitting on them yeah I would assume they are done. I honestly don't know for sure but since you want chicks so badly I would put new eggs in the box before you let her out. 
When the chicks are hatched and moving around she might try calling them up to the box at night but she will figure out they simply can't do it and will start sleeping with them on the ground. You actually should be able to move them to the tractor if that's where you want them to be but pretty much once they hatch they are a little smarter knowing that those are theirs instead of how she's acting with the eggs now


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## ShireRidgeFarm

Our hens go broody sometimes. (They are buff orpingtons). The first time some went broody, I just let them keep their eggs in the nesting boxes and waited to see what would happen. They sat on the eggs for 2 weeks maybe, and then left. So, we had to throw out a bunch of eggs. 

Later, another went broody and I tried making it its own little space in the barn for it to hatch its eggs. It would never sit on the eggs that I brought it and instead spent all its time trying to get out of the barn... 

We now have one hen that has gone broody trying to hatch some eggs in the goat's stall.  I've just left her alone, and she's still trying to hatch them so I'm waiting to see what happens. :shrug:

Anyway, getting the hens to hatch their eggs was more difficult than I thought it would be. I hope you manage to get yours to hatch!


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## melbah1

We've let broody hens hatch eggs a few times. We always move them because they will get chased out of the nesting box and either there will be eggs of different ages under her or she will start to set in a different nesting box. But they have always set on the eggs that we moved them to. Sounds like your broody hen won't do that. I would want the hen to be back on the eggs within an hour if she was already sitting on them before beimg moved.


Will the other hens leave her alone where she is? If so, you could just watch at 21 days and then move her. She should stay with the chicks after they hatch.

she can hatch any fertilized chicken egg even if it's not her own.

we have a hen on eggs that should hatch in 5 days.


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## lottsagoats1

My bantams used to go broody in the eaves of the goat barn, 10 feet above the floor. I never could reach them to move the eggs so I had to just let them set.

The chicks hatched normally. After a day or so, I would see mom jump out and fly down to the floor of the goat pen and cluck to her chicks. One by one they would jump down to her. The only one I ever lost was one that landed in the water bucket and drowned. It rained chicks!!!!!! lol


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## sassykat6181

I have a broody hen. We don't have a rooster  I collect the eggs every day, but she still sits in the box and steals eggs from the other boxes after the girls have layed. Not sure how she does it. Today I picked up 12 red ranger chicks from TSC and placed them under her. After about an hour I moved her and the chicks into the pen I set up for her, with a hard sided dog kennel as her new nest. She is happy happy. 
Let your hen hatch her eggs, then move her


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