So my silkie broody hen has managed to hatch a couple of her eggs so far today. It was a surprise even though I knew we were getting close as she has been sitting on her eggs a while now. She also has a foster hen who is broody helping with the hatching process. They are very good friends. Anyways,,,I have never done this with a broody hen. I have hatched my own eggs in incubators and then placed the chicks in the brooder. I need to know exactly what I should do to help my 2 broody hens.
They are both still on about 12-15 more eggs waiting to hatch. I took the 2 chicks that hatched and put them in my brooder which was already set up anyways with a red light. I added food and water and made the 2 chicks take a drink before I put them in the brooder. They are both real strong and looking perfect! Cute fluffy yellow chicks. Now,,,,I ran and grabbed my chicken books and started reading what to do in this instance but they are not real specific. One book says to take the chicks from the mom and place them into a brooder during the day and return the chicks to the nest with mom at night while she continues to hatch more of her eggs. Do you all agree with this???
I don't want to take moms off the nest as they still have more eggs to hatch but I also don't want them to panic that I took their babies either. What do I do??? What do yall recommend?? The broody hens are in a nest in the barn. My brooder is inside my house and it is comfy and cozy for the newly hatched chicks. Should I return the chicks to the nest tonight or not? Please advise. P.S. I'm curious,,,how do the momma hens feed those chicks after they hatch?? I realize the chick absorbs the egg before it hatches but I mean after that.....how does a momma hen feed it's chick or does it? My nesting boxes are up off the ground so there was no way for the babies to get down to the ground. It's a good thing I found them when I did. I'm just in a small panic as this is new to me. Please write
Thank you, Julie
They are both still on about 12-15 more eggs waiting to hatch. I took the 2 chicks that hatched and put them in my brooder which was already set up anyways with a red light. I added food and water and made the 2 chicks take a drink before I put them in the brooder. They are both real strong and looking perfect! Cute fluffy yellow chicks. Now,,,,I ran and grabbed my chicken books and started reading what to do in this instance but they are not real specific. One book says to take the chicks from the mom and place them into a brooder during the day and return the chicks to the nest with mom at night while she continues to hatch more of her eggs. Do you all agree with this???
I don't want to take moms off the nest as they still have more eggs to hatch but I also don't want them to panic that I took their babies either. What do I do??? What do yall recommend?? The broody hens are in a nest in the barn. My brooder is inside my house and it is comfy and cozy for the newly hatched chicks. Should I return the chicks to the nest tonight or not? Please advise. P.S. I'm curious,,,how do the momma hens feed those chicks after they hatch?? I realize the chick absorbs the egg before it hatches but I mean after that.....how does a momma hen feed it's chick or does it? My nesting boxes are up off the ground so there was no way for the babies to get down to the ground. It's a good thing I found them when I did. I'm just in a small panic as this is new to me. Please write