Hi!
Last summer we paid a lot of money to have Lowes come out and build a shed specifically for our banty chicks--stupid to some but it was the only way it was going to get done if you know what I mean!
We got 26 day old chicks last May--due to conditions we were unable to control including the fact that our yellow lab broke into the nursery!, 16 survived. Of the 16, 5 are roosters. The hens started laying in August/Sept. and by October/November a couple were getting broody. They've since hatched out 4 babies, 3 of which have survived. We have now cordoned off a "nursery" in the shed that seemed to be working fine. Moms come and go and the babies are safe.
This morning, a little hen greeted me from outside the shed before I'd had a chance to open it up! In other words, she'd spent the night outside! While one of my "moms" appears to have gone broody again inside the shed, the one who spent the night outside eventually led me to an entire clutch of eggs (at least a dozen!) that have been laid outside the confines of the shed behind a relatively unprotected rose bush! Not only that--but she's trying to hatch them!
My husband and I have gone to all kinds of expense (because of past unhappy experiences) to build this shed and include a dog run for the chickens' safety. We do let them roam the garden during the day and they've routinely been putting themselves to bed at night--except (obviously) this one little hen who has spurned our efforts!
What to do? What to do?! Should we let her keep the clutch of eggs (we really don't care how many chickens we have although I'd prefer not to have as many roosters!)? How soon will the natural predators be awakening from their winters' nap?
Our garden is fenced in pretty well but smaller predators (opossum, skunk, etc.) could still get in if they wanted.
Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Carol
Laying Outside the House!
If it's been as cold there as in the rest of the country, I doubt that the eggs will hatch. She will want to be with them as long as they are there. Since she is already broody, she probably won't go back to laying for a few weeks. IS there a way to confine her to the shed for a few days to retrain her? Make sure that she knows her eggs are gone first. Hopefully by the time she starts laying again, she will lay IN the shed. DO you have any nest boxes in there? Mike banties like old wine boxes on the floor or big buckets turned on their side. I have silkies so they don't roost so all my nests are ground level. Right now, I have a little hen that is setting a clutch under a little footstool I left in the pen.
Skunks are already up... I doubt they ever really nap in your area. Same with raccoons. I don't know if opossums really hibernate...
And domestic cats never hibernate... you didn't say (or I didn't notice) what size chickens you have, but that may be a consideration, too.
Silly hen. =0)
Possoms and raccoons never really hibernate. They just sleep a lot in the winter. In your area skunks probably do the same. It is also coming up on breeding season for coons, so they will be out and about.
Can you put her in a dog kennel with her little eggs? I feel real bad for the poor girl. They may not even hatch but maybe she can try. ??? But the only way you will keep her in is by moving the eggs. I would hate for preditors to start thinking of your area as hunting and gathering area. Ya know? Good luck Carol. Keep us posted!! Okay?
Thank you all for your replies and solutions. My husband and I are going to wait until they've all gone to sleep tonight and transfer her and her eggs either inside the kennel or inside the shed. The shed would be safer and is already set up as a nursery.
Thanks again!
Carol