Can I move Nutmeg & her nest to a wire cage & get her to still set on her eggs? This raccoon attacked & killed two of my chickens before i ran him off last night, within 25 minutes he was across the street & in the neighbors chicken coop, got 3 of their chickens & he got the chicken they had sitting on eggs in the yard. now we've found out the coop a quarter mile down the street was hit either just before mine or right after. Nutmeg is hidden pretty well but i hate to take chances. We are leaving the others loose in the garage till I can rebuild the chicken coop this week. I have one small wire cage that I could put feed & water in for her. If I put a wooden or cardboard box in there with nesting material then her eggs & her would she abandon the eggs or continue to sit on them? Please help! idk what to do. This raccoon has tasted chicken & loves it. he can't be eating all of them.. he just likes to kill. I lost my two favorite chickens last night, I cant' lose the next favorite one too? I don't' want to just take her away from the eggs but if i have to to keep her safe I will. The neighbor has offered me the use of the incubator if I wish to hatch her eggs out. idk if i can do that at this point after she's already been sitting on them or not but if so that is an option if i need too. I really want her to hatch them & raise them though.
Advice please!
We have successsfully moved sitting hens. Some have to be moved when it is dark otherwise they may get off the nest and try to go back to where they were.
Can you install a light that comes on when there is movement? Sometimes this will deter predators. Or those little red lights. They think there is something there and stay away.
Your right that you need to do something because once they find them they will keep coming back.
Let us know how it goes. I hope it doesn't come back.
Good.. bc i didnt' want to take her eggs away from her. Do you have any suggestions on a box for her to nest in or what to put in it?
She wont' be able to go back. I'll leave her locked in the cage with food & water. I'll let her out during the day but I'll be able to catch her after 10 or 15 minutes & put her back. She's very easy to catch so that's not a concern.
I just brought a broody in the house in the same basic conditions.. So far, I just have shavings and alfalfa for nesting material. She was not 100% dedicated when she was outside, but she is now and she seems very content.
My neighbor has a couple of broody hens in the house! LOL Seems these lil "tractors" I built for the chicks are gonna come in handy!
We had a double nesting box that we put 2 of our broodies in. You could even use a cat carrier. We put hay in our nests, they move it around to suit them. We have one momma and baby that have a pen for the day but no house, so we just put them in the cat carrier and close it at night. Pretty soon the momma will go back in the hen house as she is now laying eggs again and the baby is getting pretty big.
I have a wire cage that's 3x3 I'm going to put her in with a lil box to nest in. She'll have to go to the garage tho, mom refuses to let anymore chickens in the house or the sunroom.
Thanks everyone! now I'm off to set up her new house & get the other one partially torn apart to rebuild.