Heya ! This is my first time hatching chicks and I'm desperate to get it right. Any advice would be most welcome I have a mixture of silkie, Australasian, and wyandotte eggs all bantams, under 2 bantam orpingtons who are sat beautifully and who are inseparable. They have approx 2 weeks to go. I have a run with small mesh for them to attach to their sitting coop, chick crumb, chick waterer (bought some marbles to pop in) Do I need to get anything else ? Any vitamins or medicated food ? The run is on grass and their bedding is hempcore and soft hay. Do you think the mother's will be ok together or would it be wise to get another pen and sitting coop ready in case of any unladylike behaviour ? Many thanks Shabana xx
2 girls make 2 great moms... I stuck a new mom (may have raised chicks before, unsure) with a mom who kept ditching them when they hatched... Hasn't ditched them yet, but had been pulling out the chicks feathers so it was nice to have a backup mom (who is sweet as honey I must say!) Chick crumb and chick waterer is great. They LOVE dirt (but be warned, a mom dust bathing with a cold chick getting under can result in a dead chick, but with 2 moms unlikely to happen), and LOVE chick pea (soft type of grass, really) Don't add bedding, it'll do nothing but cause issues. If its very wet, then keep a spot covered and maybe some sand or dry dirt. If you can't, then hay would be best.
Thank you for your reply ! I will remove the hay in the coop and just stick with the hempcore when it's nearer the time in case they become tangled up in it. And I'll get some play sand too for the run as it can get pretty damp here in the UK. I've read that bantams can hatch a little earlier at 19-20 days - is this right ? Is there anything my 2 mother's will need as far as vitamins and so on ? They seem fine at the moment. They are eating and drinking very little but I do make sure they stretch their legs twice a day and do my best to get them to shovel as much down as they can in the 3-4 mins they give themselves before wanting to get back on the nest. Many thanks Shabana x
Looked up hemcore and that does look better then hay, I wouldn't doubt it, but really, high temps = earlier hatching chicks, low temps = later hatching chicks. Vitimans are up to you, we don't give ours any and they do fine. You'll be amazed how fast they grow up, ESP under a broody Hen! They're like little 35 year olds in just a few days.
Just a little update It was day 21 yesterday and on cue little beaks started to poke through By evening I had 15 chicks - some I had to assist a little as the eggs were pretty hard I think due to the hot dry spell we've had here. A couple were infertile and a couple hadn't made it to full term. I cannot get over how magical yesterday was (it was my first time hatching and this is my first year keeping chickens). Mabel and ginger are also first timers and are so lovely. I fed them breakfast in bed this morning bless um as yesterday they didn't leave the nest at all. They are all fluffed up this morning and noisy. Their chick crumb and shallow water is by them when they are ready. I'm so happy for my broodies I can't tell you. ! They look like a few of everything at the moment it's hard to tell. I will try to get a quick photo this afternoon. Thanks for the advice given and the wealth of knowledge available on this site - it's meant they have had the best possible start xx
Too cute! Looks like it all went perfectly, and everyone is happy with the arrangement. Lucky chicks have 2 momma hens to mother them all
How cool! You're in for one of the best experiences, watching momma hens raise babies. It's priceless! I have two bantam cochin hens that sat together, hatched 5 eggs, and are still mothering them at 6 weeks. I was pretty worried at first, but they've done beautifully.
Thank you for your kind comments. I'm so proud of them all !! They all seem to be doing really well and scoffing and zooming about The weathers turned pretty fine here too so I think they might take them outside soon. Can't wait to see them learn to scratch !
Aw, they're too darn cute! I have two Silkie hens co-parenting 8 chicks right now. One hen hatched 6 chicks, then a week later the other hen hatched 2 more. All the chicks look the same and when the second hen brought her babies out neither could tell one chick from the other So now they're taking care of all 8 together.
