[Stablechooks]

Hi All
We have decided to try rearing our own chicks under a broody hen. Things were going well, we had  settled her and 7 eggs in rearing box etc... however when she gets up to drink etc she wanders back to the laying boxes in main hutch - like she has forgotten where her eggs are! We lift  her out and resettle her... each time. We are worried that the eggs she is supposed to be incubating get too cold, i.e. cold to the touch.
Should we keep her confined to a much smaller run where she can only go back to the one spot ?  If the eggs have gone cold should we start again ? We are only 4 days into the whole process!

Any advice welcome, compared to artificial rearing there is surprising little info out there on how to assist Mom in her natural duties!
Thanks

[ANHBUC]

I used rabbit hutches for my two broodies.  They brood in the covered area and have their food and water in the meshed area.  No escaping their duties that way.   

[splash101]

I've just gone through this and remember asking the same questions.

In the early days i thought mine had forgotten her responsibilites as she kept coming out to play with the others.
A couple of times our eggs were cold to touch, especially as the weather was very cold then too. As the days passed she stayed in there longer and longer and firmly stayed put no matter what.
Make sure there is food and water close by. If she is anything like mine she will dash out take on water and food in seconds, have a quick trot around and shoot back in, all in the blink of an eye.