1st Time Hatching - Small Broody Hen - Counting Begins When?

[bobbi-j]

@aart I am so glad you posted that! My next questions were going to be about getting Tootie back with the others. One week, huh? Do I just open the door and let them out? OR should I keep the babies inside the shelter and let Tootie and the others the ability to come and go?? The babies are too tiny to get into the coop. Will Tootie stay with them under the coop in a cage? I guess I didn't really think too much about what's next! ALSO - I was serious about these babies going over the same fence in which the parents came! At what age should the babies be given away or sold??

I would just open the door and let them out. Keep the babies with her, don’t separate them when integrating. How do your chickens get into the coop? Do you have a pop door? How far off the ground is it? Is your run secure from predators if she were to keep the chicks in it?

You could sell or give them away now if you wanted to. I would wait until Mama weans them, though. I think broody raised chicks just do better than chicks raised by humans. They roost sooner, and seem a little more predator savvy. Who else is more qualified to teach a chicken how to be a chicken?

 

[aart]

Weird tagging...I got notice, didn't see my name...now see my name in quote, but go to that one and see bobbi-j was tagged SMH.
Looks like you're covered, bobbi-j has done this way more than I.

Tho I've got a broody(my 2nd) due in a few days and will put her back with flock by removing temp wire wall a week or so after hatch.

 

[wamtazlady]

I was so lucky. When my hen went broody she hid her nest in the wild rose bush. I thought the fox had gotten her. Then one day she came out with 10 chicks. She saved me all the worry you've had. I herded her and the chicks into my screened in porch. At a week old I propped open the door just enough so they could go out if they wanted. She took them out. She also made sure the other chickens, the geese, and even the cats learned that they were not even to look at her chicks. At night they returned to the porch. At 3 weeks she led them up the ramp to the coop and had them all perched on the roost. Those broody hens are really smart.

 

[HannaKessler]

You could sell or give them away now if you wanted to. I would wait until Mama weans them, though. I think broody raised chicks just do better than chicks raised by humans. They roost sooner, and seem a little more predator savvy. Who else is more qualified to teach a chicken how to be a chicken?

Chickens don't have to be "weaned" like kittens and puppies. They don't drink milk, which is what the word weaning is based on, but they also don't have the same relationship with humans as dogs and cats do. If you let a broody hen raise the chicks, they will never be as friendly to humans as a chick raised by hand. It is best to start handling and raising chicks from day 1 in order to have the tamest chicks, which is what most people who buy just a few would want. However, if the main concern is having a decent egg/meat bird, it is much less work to let a hen raise the babies than to do it yourself.

Also keep in mind the cost of feed you will have to invest into these babies if you want to grow them out before selling. You would have a hard time getting $20 for a random mixed breed hen, and even less for a rooster. Chicks can be sold for probably $2-5 depending on your area, and some people don't really care about breed because they are just looking for a cute baby to raise.

 

[bobbi-j]

Chickens don't have to be "weaned" like kittens and puppies. They don't drink milk, which is what the word weaning is based on, but they also don't have the same relationship with humans as dogs and cats do. If you let a broody hen raise the chicks, they will never be as friendly to humans as a chick raised by hand. It is best to start handling and raising chicks from day 1 in order to have the tamest chicks, which is what most people who buy just a few would want. However, if the main concern is having a decent egg/meat bird, it is much less work to let a hen raise the babies than to do it yourself.

Also keep in mind the cost of feed you will have to invest into these babies if you want to grow them out before selling. You would have a hard time getting $20 for a random mixed breed hen, and even less for a rooster. Chicks can be sold for probably $2-5 depending on your area, and some people don't really care about breed because they are just looking for a cute baby to raise.

OK, let me rephrase, just to avoid confusion. *I would wait until Mama quits taking care of them. There will be a time - around 4 weeks, but sometimes later - that the hen will quit taking care of them. She will start chasing them away from her, and ignoring them more and more. I would wait until this happens before moving them along.*

 

[chickengeorgeto]

... My little hen (Tootie) decided to go broody. IF my calculations are correct, tonight will be her 21st night in the nest box with the eggs... Do you count days or nights? When do you start counting? Normally she goes inside the coop to sleep at night. View attachment 1294252

Hatching chicks is a PROCESS that should take 21 complete days or 504 hours to complete. If you wish to hatch chicks study now to properly store hatching eggs to get the best hatch of the healthiest chicks possible. Every time a hen lays in a nest with other eggs she warms the nest a tad and the eggs already there can begin to develop but this is bad for the long term viability of your hatching eggs because each egg may start and stop developing 10 or more times reducing viability and depleting the eggs' reserves of energy. Failure to do so will often result in chicks with open navels and other hatching defects and that results in chicks dying needlessly.

 

[aart]

OK, let me rephrase, just to avoid confusion. *I would wait until Mama quits taking care of them. There will be a time - around 4 weeks, but sometimes later - that the hen will quit taking care of them. She will start chasing them away from her, and ignoring them more and more. I would wait until this happens before moving them along.*

Yes, 'weaning' chicks later rather than sooner has more to do with 'breaking the broody than the chicks welfare.

 

[bobbi-j]

Chickens don't have to be "weaned" like kittens and puppies. They don't drink milk, which is what the word weaning is based on, but they also don't have the same relationship with humans as dogs and cats do. If you let a broody hen raise the chicks, they will never be as friendly to humans as a chick raised by hand. It is best to start handling and raising chicks from day 1 in order to have the tamest chicks, which is what most people who buy just a few would want. However, if the main concern is having a decent egg/meat bird, it is much less work to let a hen raise the babies than to do it yourself.

Also keep in mind the cost of feed you will have to invest into these babies if you want to grow them out before selling. You would have a hard time getting $20 for a random mixed breed hen, and even less for a rooster. Chicks can be sold for probably $2-5 depending on your area, and some people don't really care about breed because they are just looking for a cute baby to raise.

I had to do it. I looked up the definition of the word "wean". Here we go:
wean1
wēn/
verb
gerund or present participle: weaning

1. accustom (an infant or other young mammal) to food other than its mother's milk.
   • accustom (someone) to managing without something on which they have become dependent or of which they have become excessively fond.
     "the doctor tried to wean her off the sleeping pills"
     synonyms: disengage; More
     
     
   • be strongly influenced by (something), especially from an early age.
     "I was weaned on a regular diet of Hollywood fantasy"

So yes - you are right in the sense that they don't have to be weaned like a kitten or puppy. They are, however, weaned from their mother's care. They have to become "accustomed to manage without" her. Not trying to start a fight here. Just wanting to clear that up.

And you are right. If you want your chickens to be pets, it might be better to hand raise them so they are tame and cuddly. Otherwise, I believe they are far better off being raised by a broody.

 

[HannaKessler]

I had to do it. I looked up the definition of the word "wean". Here we go:
wean1
wēn/
verb
gerund or present participle: weaning

1. accustom (an infant or other young mammal) to food other than its mother's milk.
   • accustom (someone) to managing without something on which they have become dependent or of which they have become excessively fond.
     "the doctor tried to wean her off the sleeping pills"
     synonyms: disengage; More
     
     
   • be strongly influenced by (something), especially from an early age.
     "I was weaned on a regular diet of Hollywood fantasy"

So yes - you are right in the sense that they don't have to be weaned like a kitten or puppy. They are, however, weaned from their mother's care. They have to become "accustomed to manage without" her. Not trying to start a fight here. Just wanting to clear that up.

And you are right. If you want your chickens to be pets, it might be better to hand raise them so they are tame and cuddly. Otherwise, I believe they are far better off being raised by a broody.

Lol okay I'll concede the definition, I'm not used to it used that way. Anyway, I think it just depends what you want out of your chickens.

 

[bobbi-j]

Lol okay I'll concede the definition, I'm not used to it used that way. Anyway, I think it just depends what you want out of your chickens.

Exactly. I don't keep mine for pets, so I tend to not think along those lines.