Chook Me!

Can I ( should I ) build an enclosure around an existing chicken's nest in my backyard?

There's about a dozen eggs under a chicken in a bush in my backyard. I'm fairly certain the eggs will hatch as we recently had a successful chicken nest in our front yard. The front yard chickens left before I could put them in a coop. I want to keep the backyard chicks and chicken, and am planning on enclosing the area around the nest in chicken wire until after the chicks hatch. At that point I will transfer them into a coop that we're building. Most importantly, am I risking the lives of either chicken or eggs by enclosing the area (about 36 sq. ft.) in chicken wire? Additionally, are there any tips on what needs the chicken will have once I've fenced it off from the rest of the world (shade, temperature, food, water, other)? Any help with this would be appreciated, I haven't been able to find much info about it elsewhere on the web.

Public Comments

1. No I dont think so I think that you have to have a license to have livestock if that is what you are using them for but I am not sure.
2. www.backyardchickens.com All the info on chickens you will ever need. Great forums with thousands of members. I would personally build them a chicken tractor ( portable pen) where they can have access to fresh grass at all times. You will have healthier chickens and eggs.
3. If the hen is sitting on the eggs, she will only leave the nest around once a day for a few minutes to get some food and water. If you fence her in she will be fine as long as you make sure water and food are available. You can put a small pile of chick starter or grower or scratch out for her so that she gets used to seeing you bring food out everyday. Once they start hatching she will sit for about 24 hours to give all of the eggs a chance to hatch. Then you will be able to move them into your coop. If you want to find out how to take care of them from there, check out some of the hatchery websites (McMurray's, Meyer's, etc. ) or you can get great books from any of the big bookstores.