- Jun 9, 2012
- 274
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I've read more than ten books about chickens, but each one I've skipped the broody and hatching section because I've never thought I'd do it.. I really don't know anything!
So now my bantam hen has gone broody. I don't have a rooster. I was just wondering a few things about it...
1.0 If I got a couple of chicks would my hen look after them, if I took the infertile eggs from under her, thinking they'd hatched from the eggs she was incubating?
If the answer to this is yes:
1.1 How old do sex-linked bantam chicks have to be before you can tell them apart?
1.2 Would the chicks recognize the broody as their mother, if they were just a day old?
I would feed the chicks chick crumbs: is it ok for the mother to eat it too?
If the answer to question 1.0 is no:
2.0 Will she abandon the eggs after 21 days if they haven't hatched (because by the time I get my hands on some hatching eggs a week will have already passed)?
2.1 I have her with another bantam at the moment. Can I just leave them both together, even if the chicks hatch?
2.2 Are there any vaccinations I would need to give and does it cost/how do I do this?
3.0 If it doesn't work out, and I can't hatch chicks, how do I get her to stop?!
Thanks in advance,
Tanith
So now my bantam hen has gone broody. I don't have a rooster. I was just wondering a few things about it...
1.0 If I got a couple of chicks would my hen look after them, if I took the infertile eggs from under her, thinking they'd hatched from the eggs she was incubating?
If the answer to this is yes:
1.1 How old do sex-linked bantam chicks have to be before you can tell them apart?
1.2 Would the chicks recognize the broody as their mother, if they were just a day old?
I would feed the chicks chick crumbs: is it ok for the mother to eat it too?
If the answer to question 1.0 is no:
2.0 Will she abandon the eggs after 21 days if they haven't hatched (because by the time I get my hands on some hatching eggs a week will have already passed)?
2.1 I have her with another bantam at the moment. Can I just leave them both together, even if the chicks hatch?
2.2 Are there any vaccinations I would need to give and does it cost/how do I do this?
3.0 If it doesn't work out, and I can't hatch chicks, how do I get her to stop?!
Thanks in advance,
Tanith