Locking Bar Eglu Classic

[chookwhisperer]

One of my hens has gone broody. I have got the dog crate out of the loft. Do I put her in it at night as well as in the day? Is it safe outside (I can't fit it in the existing run) or should I put it in the garage? Tilly laid an egg today, so what happens if and when she lays an egg in the crate? I have 2 other hens and go to work before they lay, so putting something in the nesting box isn't going to work. I've only had my hens for 6 weeks and am not ready for this! Help

[chicken bark]

Are you sure she is broody if she is still laying eggs or are you just worried that she might?

 

The dog crate needs to be raised on bricks and she needs to be in it 24 hours a day for about 3 days. At night I'd put the crate in a garage as you can't fit it in the run.

 

Make sure you are certain she is broody and not ill before you go ahead though. I'm not convinced she is broody from what you have said.

[hilda-and-evadne]

One of my hens has gone broody. I have got the dog crate out of the loft. Do I put her in it at night as well as in the day? Is it safe outside (I can't fit it in the existing run) or should I put it in the garage? Tilly laid an egg today, so what happens if and when she lays an egg in the crate? I have 2 other hens and go to work before they lay, so putting something in the nesting box isn't going to work. I've only had my hens for 6 weeks and am not ready for this! Help

 

In case this helps. I put the dog crate down near the WIR so that the hens can still see and hear each other. I read somewhere that a fox had managed to drag a puppy crate across the lawn (and the hen inside it was fatally injured in the attack) so I have arranged it so a fox could not easily drag my crate anywhere. I also place a large piece of weldmesh around it to prevent a fox getting hold of the hen's wing or something and dragging it out through the mesh of the crate. At night, the broody hen goes back in to sleep with the others; I think she would be very miserable if I left her in the crate.

 

A large cardboard box or old cat carrier will serve as a nesting box, assuming the crate is big enough to hold them. Remember to put in food and water.

 

Lastly, I put a spare set of roosting bars in the crate to make it more comfortable. Whichever hen is in there - I use it as a sin bin as well as for the hen that goes broody - does seem fairly content: she squats on the roosting bars and watches the neighbours' hens through the fence.

[chookwhisperer]

I think she is healthy, all the bits that should be red are red and I haven't seen any dodgy droppings. When I lifted her out of the eglu and shut the door at lunch time, she was her usual animated self and came for treats. However, when I opened the eglu door again at about 6 this evening she was straight back in there puffing herself up like a football. Is this just the actions of a lazy teenage hen who loves her bed or is she broody? We had three eggs today so she must have laid.

[Redwing]

If she has laid then she is a half hearted broody so hopefully will be easier to break!

 

Pop her in the crate before work with some food and water, place it somewhere fox proof though

 

If she lays in the crate thats fine, just be prepared for her to step on the egg!

[chookwhisperer]

Thanks, I'll give it a go tomorrow

 

1 Bluebelle Phoebe

1 Goldline Cassie

1 Silver Nick Tilly

 

2 cats Eddy & Tiger

1 geriatric rabbit Blacky

[chookwhisperer]

Thanks for the advice. Tilly has finally got her act together. After a week of using the broody cage in the day, a night shut in the run without her friends seemed to do the trick. She laid a tiny little egg on Sunday and 2 normal ones yesterday and today. The broody cage is back in the rafters of the garage ready for the next time.

 

1 Bluebelle Phoebe

1 Goldline Cassie

1 Silver Nick Tilly

 

2 cats Eddy & Tiger

1 geriatric rabbit Blacky