Incubated, and now have a broody!

[Fullcrazy]

OK so just wondering about some logistics. I got an incubator and put in some welsummer and Maran eggs. Turns out the temp gauge was way off, and only ended up with 2 chicks. So I decided to try another batch with just my barnyard mix and a second sensor. Yay! 23 little fluffy nuggets! (I am excited to see how the welsummer x Russian orloff turns out). Well, it's been rainy, so my existing flock have been in their hut most of the time, so I didn't realize my buff orpington was hoarding eggs. We took a few, and sure enough, they are developing, I'd guess about a week in. My question: will the buff orp be OK to just raise them with the flock? My brooder is in use at the moment, and I don't have a separate area for her and the eggs at this point. Should I build a new setup to move them into?

 

[Percheron chick]

I would. There are never any guarantees that the other hens won't go after the chicks and kill them.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

OK so just wondering about some logistics. I got an incubator and put in some welsummer and Maran eggs. Turns out the temp gauge was way off, and only ended up with 2 chicks. So I decided to try another batch with just my barnyard mix and a second sensor. Yay! 23 little fluffy nuggets! (I am excited to see how the welsummer x Russian orloff turns out). Well, it's been rainy, so my existing flock have been in their hut most of the time, so I didn't realize my buff orpington was hoarding eggs. We took a few, and sure enough, they are developing, I'd guess about a week in. My question: will the buff orp be OK to just raise them with the flock? My brooder is in use at the moment, and I don't have a separate area for her and the eggs at this point. Should I build a new setup to move them into?

I have limited experience with this, but my own chicks integrated perfectly with the flock. I set up a separate brood box cut off only by a simple cheap chicken wire enclosure to keep the other gals out. On day 3 some got in and broke two of her eggs and laid their own... anyways I had two babies hatch. When mama decided she had enough she knocked down the enclosure herself and when I came home she was out in the yard with the babies. They were only 7 days old at that point. Now they are three weeks old and will hop on top of the feeder to eat even as the big birds are eating away. The big birds totally ignore them. Now I have five hatchery chicks and am dreading integrating them in with the flock because I saw how flawless it went with a broody hen!!! Not all flocks behave the same way though and mama really establishes her dominance.