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My 5 co-broodies showing their chicks how to dustbath for the first time.

I have done both with success so it's really up to you and your flock dynamics. If you have a way to block off the nests they are sitting in when the chicks start to hatch (to keep nosey hens from disturbing them) and the coop is safe for chicks then I would leave them where they are. You will...

Scary! I'm so glad your Mama was able to alert you in time and everyone is safe.

Looks like a great set up! Wait until all the chicks have hatched; then you should be able to move mama and babies fairly easily. Night time is best as they will just settle down where you put them and then wake up in their new home. If you have a way to lock them in at night it will help...

Luckily I'm using a Premier1 brooder plate - no bright light in my brooder They hatched Saturday so have spent 5 days with mama. I just know that by the time I get home I'm not going to have time to get a safe box built before it gets dark this evening. I guess I can just give it a try tomorrow...

Do you have any idea what they might be? bantam or LF? They are cute what ever they are.

Another questions for you experts - If I keep the chicks in the brooder until tomorrow night will it be to late to try and put them back with Mamas? It would be 2 days in the brooder.

Great idea! I need to make some changes to the coop anyway so I will probably try and lower it but that should work until then.

I've hatched TJ eggs - cute little leghorn types! Winco, Whole Foods and Raleys in some places also carry fertile eggs. It's pretty amazing to see an egg that has been washed, sanitized, refridgerated and shipped hatch into a little fuzzy butt.

What Lady said! Heat is much worse than cold for hatching eggs so as long as they don't freeze solid they should be fine.

Very nice! So far I've only had one LF brood for me. It was November and her 1st try so she only got 6 eggs but she hatched 5.

A nest full of eggs is sometimes enough to intice a brood; especially in silkies (and other "broody type" breeds) but you'll want to make sure she is serious before giving her the eggs you want her to hatch. Has she brooded before? For a 1st timer I would recommend cheap or free eggs just in...

You shouldn't need any heat; the hens will keep the babies warm. It's amazing how much "tougher" broody raised chicks are. I had a hatch the beginning of December and Mama had her 3 day old babies out in 40 degree weather with no problems. They will run under mama when they get cold. The hens...

Well the last week or so in Broodyville has taught me much. For starters I will never have the ladies have eggs set to hatch so close together without setting them all the same day. Storm hatched 3 out of 4 of the Orps eggs on 3/28 (the 4th pipped and died) and Jasmine promptly abandoned her...

You might want to see if you can find a LF Cochin that comes from a broody line. I have 1 that hatched 5 chicks last winter just a month after starting to lay. She was an excellent mother and had no problem holding her own and protecting her chicks even though she was the bottom of the pecking...

More hens certainly won't hurt as long as the space isn't overcrowded. If you decide to split the roos up; keep in mind that there is a good chance you won't be able to put them back in the same pen. My 2 boys (hatchmates) were the best of buds until I moved one into his own pen with his own...

It will depend on your roosters. Some are good with chicks and others, not so much. You will have to see how the roos react to new chicks. You should also consider the Roo to Hen ratio; when brooding the girls won't be receptive to the advances of the roos and will leave those not brooding or...

Absolutely! I have one of my bantam Cohin roos in with my layers (all LF, most are dual-purpose so larger birds) and most of my eating eggs are fertile. I've gotten some cute mixes out of my Crested Cream Legbars; all fluffy feet and crested.

Broodies sure do make incubating and brooding super easy; you just have to work with their schedule.

I got six 2-3 month old bantam pullets last fall for my birthday (3 Cochin and 3 Silkie/Cochin mix) and they all seem to have the Super Broody gene. They have their own pen with my bantam Cochin roo "Willy"- an absolute cuddle-bug and an amazing papa. Storm and Sky (silkie/cochin) are on their...