Two of our hens are broody. The zoned out kind of broody. We've just put them in a separated part of the run to try and get them out of it. .
When they are in seg they root around and perk up. We are going to start keeping them in there overnight away from the coop.
But here's the problem - we are going on holiday in two weeks and the neighbours are going to be coming to remove eggs, change food and water. During this time our normally free ranging hens will be kept in the (big) run.
If we haven't got rid of the broodiness by then or they regress I'm not confident the hens will leave the nest box to eat and drink. So far they didn't do this till we removed them.
If we ask our neighbours to take them out occasionally it will mean they are not in the run - nest boxes open into the garden.
If we keep them in seg it can only be accessed through the main part of the run and could lead to an escape attempt being made by the other ladies.
Any ideas?