One stubborn hen & her mate!

I have moved this hens nest about 4 times and they always move back to the same spot...



which is right in front of the pigeon door on the floor!


The only reason I let them sit the egg is because it can't be fertile with the amount of rolling
it has taken and sitting on a cold floor... I hope it's infertile! :eek:

...Don't fool yourself. I'll bet it's fertile.

Place something else on that spot and be careful not to trip on it when entring loft. She likes the view maybe.

EgypSwiftLady wrote:

I have moved this hens nest about 4 times and they always move back to the same spot...
which is right in front of the pigeon door on the floor!

The only reason I let them sit the egg is because it can't be fertile with the amount of rolling
it has taken and sitting on a cold floor... I hope it's infertile! :eek:

Only time will tell!!
Keep us posted.

plamenh wrote:

Place something else on that spot and be careful not to trip on it when entring loft. She likes the view maybe.

There have been a few pigeons I've read about that like to nest on the floor.
Seems so odd to me because they usually like to be high so they can get a real bird's eye view.

They're very single-minded! :That\\\'s so f Your hen is very beautiful!

plamenh wrote:

Place something else on that spot and be careful not to trip on it when entring loft. She likes the view maybe.

I've tried putting a med.size clay pot, upside down, in the spot but since it's right in front of the pigeon door the birds push it out of the way. Anything bigger would block the door since her nest is so close to the opening.

Fancyfeathers wrote:

plamenh wrote:

Place something else on that spot and be careful not to trip on it when entring loft. She likes the view maybe.

There have been a few pigeons I've read about that like to nest on the floor.
Seems so odd to me because they usually like to be high so they can get a real bird's eye view.

We have three pairs that will not nest in the boxes, only two of the 7 nest boxes are currently being used.
We even have 3 boxes that sit directly on the floor and they won't use them.

I don't care if they don't use the boxes since we pull the eggs anyway I just worry about her getting cold.

Have the pair that nest on the floor ever used nest boxes or is this something newer?
I had a couple that used to nest on the floor and so I that and I bought a plastic cat tray, put bedding in it and then put the hen and her eggs in the tray and the tray in the exact same spot on the floor. Maybe that will work for your couples. You could even put a towel in the bottom of the tray to insulate it from the coldness of the floor.

Matilda wrote:

Have the pair that nest on the floor ever used nest boxes or is this something newer?
I had a couple that used to nest on the floor and so I that and I bought a plastic cat tray, put bedding in it and then put the hen and her eggs in the tray and the tray in the exact same spot on the floor. Maybe that will work for your couples. You could even put a towel in the bottom of the tray to insulate it from the coldness of the floor.

That is a good idea but at this particular spot it wouldn't work there's just not enough room in front of the door for a tray with the pigeons going in & out plus its the only pij door to that part of the loft.
I have a couple of plastic milk crates that sit on the floor on their sides and I tried moving the nest in that but they moved it back to the same spot.

I put extra straw in the loft for them so she's been adding that to her nest.

Then maybe something like thick doormat? Once she settles on top, you can move it inch by inch daily until she is out of the way.

Good idea Plamenh I never thought of that, I'll give it a try.

Thanks! :Yes:

What a clever idea!

Good suggestion, Plamenh.
Please do let us know how it works, Robin.

This morning as Plamenh suggested I carefully put the hens nest on a matt, after I added about an inch of ground corn cobb to the loft floor for more insulation.

The hen walked over to took a look at her nest and walked away :eek: Thinking that maybe if I left the loft she would go back to sit the nest.... an hour pasted & no change.
Fearing that the egg had already suffered from being cold too long I took the egg and put it under Greta & Birdy who are busy incubating a wooden egg.

I didn't bother candling the egg because it was cold, I know its either fertile or
rotten.

So I guess we will just have to wait and see....

Appreciate the update, Robin.
Please do keep us posting on how things are coming along.

LOL not easy butting heads with a pigeon. Not long ago I wrote in another thread about fighting in my loft over a nest box high up. McGee and his hen won the box and sat on eggs there one time. Guess where they are nesting now??? On the floor of course!

Jenaka wrote:

LOL not easy butting heads with a pigeon. Not long ago I wrote in another thread about fighting in my loft over a nest box high up. McGee and his hen won the box and sat on eggs there one time.

Guess where they are nesting now??? On the floor of course!

:That\\\'s so f

Fancyfeathers wrote:

Jenaka wrote:

LOL not easy butting heads with a pigeon. Not long ago I wrote in another thread about fighting in my loft over a nest box high up. McGee and his hen won the box and sat on eggs there one time.

Guess where they are nesting now??? On the floor of course!

I'll ditto that!

ah you have such a stubborn hen there Robin Does she miss the egg now that it's with the other pair? Hope she doesn't get all cold sitting on the floor

Jen that was hilarious

Matilda wrote:

Fancyfeathers wrote:

Jenaka wrote:

LOL not easy butting heads with a pigeon. Not long ago I wrote in another thread about fighting in my loft over a nest box high up. McGee and his hen won the box and sat on eggs there one time.

Guess where they are nesting now??? On the floor of course!

I'll ditto that!

Me too! This is turning into quite a soap opera!...