Multiple hens laying in broody chicken nests

whatsthequestion

Chirping
May 25, 2020
80
190
98
West Virginia
I have three broody hens which I had not let set on eggs. While I was on vacation the chicken's caregiver was afraid to take their eggs. I candled them when I got back and have chicks in all three nests. I thought since we had chicks underway Now I have multiple hens pushing in to lay in these three nests even though I have 18 boxes for my 29 hens. I marked the eggs for hatching and daily retrieve the unmarked eggs. This, however, will likely not work for hatching. I'm concerned I'll lose a lot of chicks. Any suggestions? If I build a brood pen inside my coop with three boxes can all three chicken's share the pen? My coop is 20 x 8 (see pictures) The broody hens have been running outside once, occasionally twice, a day to eat, drink, and poop.

I do have 3 huge dog crates. Could I put them in those and make nesting spaces towards the back for them? Would I need to close them off from the rest of the coop population?
 

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Chicalina

Crowing
Aug 1, 2020
3,103
4,559
391
UK
the 3 dog crate idea is perfect. Move them at night and enclose the crates with some cardboard or blankets so they feel like safe dark hidey holes. Lock them in for the first day, if not the rest of the incubation, and let them out once/twice a day, or you'll have other hens going in there too.
 

whatsthequestion

Chirping
May 25, 2020
80
190
98
West Virginia
the 3 dog crate idea is perfect. Move them at night and enclose the crates with some cardboard or blankets so they feel like safe dark hidey holes. Lock them in for the first day, if not the rest of the incubation, and let them out once/twice a day, or you'll have other hens going in there too.
Thank you! We are going to go with this rather than pull pull the hens out of the coop. Hopefully this will work. 🤞
 

whatsthequestion

Chirping
May 25, 2020
80
190
98
West Virginia
Well, here is what I went with. I'll move them tonight. Hopefully this will work! Thanks for your help. 🙂🥚🐣🐥
 

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whatsthequestion

Chirping
May 25, 2020
80
190
98
West Virginia
Thank you! We put linoleum on the poop boards, lol. I give them a quick scrapedown and mopping daily. I use an old Rubbermaid container to scrape the poop into. I do the same with the roosts. It has made it so much faster and easier and the coop stays cleaner, and fresher smelling. The bedding stays really clean for longer periods of time, too. Best thing we have ever done in the coop.

Here's how we made them: We were able to get heavy 3/4" pressboard for free from Lowes. It's part of shipping materials so they throw it away. We painted both sides and the edges to seal it from any moisture with latex paint. The linoleum was an end cut clearance. We used flooring adhesive and glued the linoleum to the press board and let them air in an outside woodshed shed for 24 hours before installing them.

Funny story...years ago before we had chickens, and only one dog (who never needed crated) my husband drove by a yard sale and saw three large dog crates and two metal cat crates, all for $40. He bought them. I asked him what he was thinking when he bought them. He said he was thinking they might come in handy some day. I thought he had kind of lost his mind but just rolled with it. We have since used those crates for brooding chicks, helped with rescues, babysat a baby pig, and more. Now we are using them for broody hens. Lol
 
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