Adding Chicks

[ocpoolguy]

SO! We purchased five baby chicks 2 turned out to be Roos. 3 Chicks grew up and started giving us eggs. We wanted more hens. One of our girls went broody. We went to Trader Joes and purchased a dozen fertile eggs from the refrigerator section let then sit on the counter overnight then slipped them under the broody hen and removed the eggs she was sitting on. 21 days later the all hatched today.

I wasn’t really ready for this. Ran to the store and got starter food and water for them. Locked the other chickens out of the coop and went to work. Now I am thinking that may have been a mistake. One of the other girls went into our house and dropped an egg on the floor of our bedroom.

I have now opened up the coop for the other girls to get in and go to sleep. Any suggestions? Momma seems protective and hopping everything works out.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Looks like your coop is smaller? Generally I like to drop a fence around my broody for the first week or so to keep everyone safe, but if you coop is small it may be hard to do. Sometimes chicks are fine and sometimes the other hens will attack them.

 

[ocpoolguy]

the coop is about 4X10 Its starting to get dark now and one of the Adult hens went to her normal top roost and the other hasn't entered to coop yet. All the chicks are under Mamma I think all is good

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Hopefully it all works out, and momma does a good job.

 

[Mrs. K]

I think you will be fine. The tricky time is while they are hatching, sometimes a chick gets away, and can be attacked. Once they are all hatched, mama is moveable, and will protect them, and the layers may snipe at them, but won't dare to do more than that, it is the easiest way to add chicks.

 

[aart]

Agrees with Mrs. K...I think you'll be fine and it is the easiest way to add chicks.

But I really cracked up at your story

21 days later the all hatched today.......I wasn’t really ready for this.

Great story, well told!!


The older birds may well want to eat that starter feed, and it will be fine for them to do so as long as you provide them some calcium like Oyster Shells...
.....but if needed might be good to set up a creep feed area so the chicks can eat in peace.
This is just 2x4 welded wire, with the wires squeezed so every other 'hole' is a bit bigger.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Anything you do will have some risks involved. That's just the way it is with living animals, you do not get guarantees. Whether you isolate the chicks or not there are benefits and advantages, now or later.

Broody hens have been hatching and raising chicks with the flock for thousands of years. They are not extinct yet. I let my broody hens hatch and raise chicks with the flock all the time. I had a problem with that one time. A second hen went broody just before the eggs hatched and the two broody hens fought over the nest, destroying some of the eggs. That is the only time I have ever lost a chick to another adult hen and she was hopped up on broody hormones. Other people have lost chicks to other adults, it can happen. I just don't see it happening with mine after they hatch. If I keep at it long enough someday something probably will happen.

We all have different set-ups and management techniques. I put food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it and leave everything else up to the broody hen. Normally she keeps the chicks in the coop for a couple of days, then takes them outside. After that, she normally takes them outside in the morning and keeps them outside all day. At night she normally takes them to a corner of the coop floor to sleep while the other adults use the roosts. Each broody hen is different. I've had some not take their chicks outside for 4 or 5 days. I've had broody hens take their chicks to the roosts at 2 weeks of age, I've had some never take their chicks to the roosts, though most do. Your set-up is different from mine, I'm not sure how that will affect what your broody does.

By raising them with the flock my broody hens handle integration. I don't have to manage that later. My broody hens always defend their chicks from the other flock members if they pose a threat. Some peopel have had broody hens that do not. Usually they do not try to hurt a chick but if the chick gets away from Momma's protection they can. When that happens it has always been a hen for me, I've never seen a mature rooster threaten a chick.

Integration means the other flock members accept the chicks' right to live and do not go out of their way to harm them. The chicks still have to handle the pecking order on their own after Momma weans them. Normally they do that by avoiding the other adults. The more space they have to manage that the easier it is for them. I have a lot of space and it has never been a problem. I don't know how much room you have outside.

Others like to isolate the broody hen and chicks for a short time or a long time. Nothing wrong with that, it's just not the way I choose to do it. If you try that make sure the baby chicks cannot escape Momma's protection and join the flock on their own. That would not be safe.

Good luck!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I don't separate, just put a fence around them. I wouldn't totally separate out a broody either. I may be over cautious at times, but I have lost chicks in those first few days, and I don't want to repeat those experiences.

 

[Shorty22366]

I don't separate my chicks from the rest of the flock. The mama will protect them. I figured the hen knows more about raising them than I do. I have 5 clutches that have been raised by mama with the rest of the flock. The mama's protect them from everyone else.

 

[Mrs. K]

Last year, I raised some chicks, but had them down with big girls by 3 weeks, and by 4 weeks they were with the group. However, they always hung by themselves, a sub flock. What I noticed was they were slow to roost, and they roost in a different spot from the main flock for a very long time, until they were laying.

My point is, a broody raised the last five in August. And last night, locking them up late, a little tiny head peaked up, right in the middle of the flock on the roost.

Broody is not always convenient, handy, or on my time frame, but broody is best!