First Time Hatching with a Broody Hen in Mid-October

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Irene5008 said:
I would love to know how to sex 2 week old chicks. We had them hatch over a three day period and was told by a chicken farmer that depending on the day they were set will determine the sex of the chick!
How do I know? He said if the were all set the same day, we could wind up with all roos or all hens. I want a roo or two.

Um...no. Sex is determined chromosomally at fertilization, not by when you set the eggs. You should have a normal distribution of sexes--this *can* vary widely since the 50:50 ratio is statistical only (dependant on a very large sample size). Two weeks old is a bit early for accurate sexing, but some chicks are precocious. You can try posting pics of your chicks over in the "What Breed/Gender?" forum for some expert advice.


We started out with 30 eggs and 20 hatched in the home made incubator. A dog killed our only rooster so my husband got this bright idea to save eggs to hatch so we would have more laying hens and at least one rooster.
Thank you for any help!
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I don't mean to take over the thread, but I do have a question that relates to it. This morning I went outside and found a hen that had been missing for a few weeks. Then I saw a chick run out from under her. There turned out to be four chicks. I was quite excited ,but I'm not sure what to do with them because of the cold weather. I assume they will be plenty warm as long as they can still fit under the hen, but what about in a couple of weeks when they are bigger? I have an unheated and uninsulated coop. Should I put them in my basement or will they be fine outside? I live in northern Michigan. The temperatures are only getting down into the 30s right now, but it will be colder soon. Thanks
 
From what I know, by about 6 weeks they have most of their feathers and can do quite well. We have a heat lamp (non light emitting) in our coop but its connected to a thermostat ($20 on amazon), just to keep it from getting super cold while the chicks are small. Even with temps in the 40s, they have been fine and don't have their feathers. I'm sure they will be ok as long as the mom is willing to help raise them.
 

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