Unintentional chicken parents in Colombia. Now what?

[AdrianaG]

Hi all. We are building a home on a lot in a rural area outside of Medellin, Colombia. There are 2 roaming roosters and 3-4 hens that circulate through our lot and the adjacent undeveloped lots that were originally an avocado farm. We couldnt help but start feeding them corn and other treats so they have now adopted us! The hens have nested on our property twice, Cappucina hatched 6 chicks under a dense woodpile and it was impossible to get them to a secure location, by the second day venturing out they were gone . Negrita‘s 9 chicks hatched in a more accessible location and we were able to transfer them (and the mum) to a more secure 6’ x 12’ dog kennel with concrete floor. They are 12 days old, we are feeding them starter feed and have added a thick layer of rice hulls to the covered stalls in the kennel. Now Cappuchina has gone broody and is sitting on 2 eggs, one fake! In a couple weeks we’ll probably have one more baby. Now what?

 

[SilverBirds]

Welcome to BYC! Do you plan on building them a coop?

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

So glad you decided to join us. You might stop by our Learning Center for articles on caring for your new flock... https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/

And if you have any further questions about them, be sure to ask. Welcome to our community!

 

[Shadrach]

Hi all. We are building a home on a lot in a rural area outside of Medellin, Colombia. There are 2 roaming roosters and 2-3 hens that circulate through our lot and the adjacent undeveloped lots that were originally an avocado farm. We couldnt help byt start feeding them corn and other treats so they have now adooted us! The hens have nested on our property twice, Cappucina hatched 6 chicks under a dense woodpile and it was impossible to get them to a secure location, by the second day venturing out they were gone . Negrita‘s 9 chicks hatched in a more accessible location and we were able to transfer them to a more secure 6’ x 12’ dog kennel with concrete floor. They are 12 days old, we are feeding them started feed and have added a thick layer of hulls to the covered parts of the kennel. Cappuchina has gone broody and is sitting on 2 eggs, one fake! In a couple weeks we’ll probably have one more baby. Now what?

Let me understand this. There are a couple of roosters and now how many hens roaming free around your property?
One of these hens Negrita, hatched 9 chicks which you have taken from her and imprisoned in a run with a concrete floor.
Where's mum?
Let them go. Provide food and water on your property if you can and leave them alone. Nature will sort out the population growth.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Let me understand this. There are a couple of roosters and now how many hens roaming free around your property?
One of these hens Negrita, hatched 9 chicks which you have taken from her and imprisoned in a run with a concrete floor.
Where's mum?
Let them go. Provide food and water on your property if you can and leave them alone. Nature will sort out the population growth.

Welcome! That does sound like an adventure, and I'm sure no one wants to see tiny defenseless baby chicks turn into lunch. However I think you will find Shadrach particularly experienced in this arena of chickendom. You may want to look for his long running threads about caring for feral chickens. Good luck!

 

[LTAY1946]

Hello and Welcome to BYC!

 

[AdrianaG]

Let me understand this. There are a couple of roosters and now how many hens roaming free around your property?
One of these hens Negrita, hatched 9 chicks which you have taken from her and imprisoned in a run with a concrete floor.
Where's mum?
Let them go. Provide food and water on your property if you can and leave them alone. Nature will sort out the population growth.

Mum is with the babies. Definitely not interested in keeping them imprisoned forever and would love to be able to let them out during the day and bring them in at night for safety. There are 2 roosters, 2 regular visiting hens and a 3rd hen showed up this week. As for predators there are two neighborhood dogs that are very interested in them and plenty of possums and hawks in the area. Our interest at this time eggs, and until Capuccina decided to go broody she was laying an egg a day 6 feet from our door!

 

[AdrianaG]

Welcome! That does sound like an adventure, and I'm sure no one wants to see tiny defenseless baby chicks turn into lunch. However I think you will find Shadrach particularly experienced in this arena of chickendom. You may want to look for his long running threads about caring for feral chickens. Good luck!

Thank you, I will look up Shadrach!

 

[Shadrach]

Mum is with the babies. Definitely not interested in keeping them imprisoned forever and would love to be able to let them out during the day and bring them in at night for safety. There are 2 roosters, 2 regular visiting hens and a 3rd hen showed up this week. As for predators there are two neighborhood dogs that are very interested in them and plenty of possums and hawks in the area. Our interest at this time eggs, and until Capuccina decided to go broody she was laying an egg a day 6 feet from our door!

If you provide food and water for the time being, they will stay around your property. Yup, eggs are nice but hunting for eggs from a semi feral chicken population is even better.
If you want to keep chickens then capture a pair and from what you've written it's likely they will breed. You'll need to house them then. That will cost you money. You will become attatched to them and that will cost you heartache and the chickens their freedom. If you keep a pair and their offspring you'll need to feed them more than if they stay feral. If they breed you'll get some males. You will only be able to keep one male if you confine them I suspect. Are you up for killing and eating those you can't keep?

 

[Blue Raptor]

Hi all. We are building a home on a lot in a rural area outside of Medellin, Colombia. There are 2 roaming roosters and 2-3 hens that circulate through our lot and the adjacent undeveloped lots that were originally an avocado farm. We couldnt help byt start feeding them corn and other treats so they have now adooted us! The hens have nested on our property twice, Cappucina hatched 6 chicks under a dense woodpile and it was impossible to get them to a secure location, by the second day venturing out they were gone . Negrita‘s 9 chicks hatched in a more accessible location and we were able to transfer them (and the mum) to a more secure 6’ x 12’ dog kennel with concrete floor. They are 12 days old, we are feeding them starter feed and have added a thick layer of rice hulls to the covered stalls in the kennel. Now Cappuchina has gone broody and is sitting on 2 eggs, one fake! In a couple weeks we’ll probably have one more baby. Now what?

Welcome to BYC!!