Help with my broody hen

Congratulations! I'm glad this worked out so well!

Chicks that are cared for by a broody hen rarely get pasty butt. I think it's associated more with shipping stress and/or chicks getting too hot or cold.

The hen won't reject the chicks if you pick them up, although she won't like it at all. Just don't keep them away from the hen for very long.

Congratulations from me too. That is an excellent result from a first hatch.

I like to handle my chicks in front of the broody so that the chicks feel safe and the broody can see that you are not harming them. Do be careful though as some broodies will attack you and the chick can accidentally get pecked in the process. I shield the chick from the broody with the back of my hand as I pick them up and put them back and only handle each one for a minute or so.

Broody hens and chicks make the best "chicken TV" I particularly love watching them teaching how to dust bath. Don't be too concerned/surprised if you see a chick or two go flying as her enthusiasm for scratching and fluffing dust over herself catches some of her nearest "students" off guard and off balance! It's amazing how sturdy chicks are, even at only a couple of days old!

As stated pasty butt shouldn't be a problem but if you do get one suffering from it, a warm bath to clean up and dry them and some grease/vaseline to reduce further sticking and then back to Mam and perhaps some yoghurt mixed into their chick crumb to help the digestive process.

Good luck and enjoy!

Thanks for the tips! We have cared for all of our chicks (16 + the most recent 8) since being a day old. However it is a little different having the hen do the work.. I'm excited to see how many hen's we get. At first glance it appears that we have mostly hen's. But I may not be able to tell very well until 1 week plus. Especially without handling them to this point.