Advice on letting broody hen hatch eggs

[lazy gardener]

Personally, I would not. Brooding is hard on the body b/c of the inactivity and prolonged fast. I'd try to search out some babies for her.

 

[Choco Maran]

Rainy Day you need to get the chick/s in a brooder right away if no hen is taking care of them. Do not leave them in the coop unprotected. Get a small feeder and waterer for them dip their beaks so they start to drink and eat. Make sure the have a heat source so the brooder stays around 95 degrees.

 

[RedSky1]

Ok lots of information here. I have broody that is sitting 10 eggs. Would have been 12 but hubby took 2 white ones out. He didnt realize I had left them so two white chickens could hatch. I mainly have isa brown's.
My question is they are in coop. Its up at waist level from the bottom of it. Do I need to seperate momma & babies before they hatch? I have never had chickens before. I'm worried they will fall out of coop & get hurt or die. Is that a real worry?

 

[User395221]

My Josephine went clucky and didn't "knock it off" after several days of pushing her off. She also got Flossie (who'd gone clucky before) back into clucky mode and she started sitting in there too. I impetuously decided to grab some fertilised eggs when I saw them locally, and both girls are in there sitting on them.

I've just bumped this to ask the same thing as the previous unanswered question. My coop is raised, the girls are in there. If/when the babies hatch, what do I need to do to keep them safe from falling and hurting themselves? Will they stay up there, or will they all start running about and maybe fall out of the small door? It can be closed, but there are other girls who sleep and lay their eggs in there too.... I wanted to keep any babies in the coop and run so that they don't get "picked on" moving them in as strangers. If I exclude the other girls, will it make them mean towards the new babies?

I know there is a lot that can "go wrong", but I'm optimistic that at least some will hatch, so I'm trying to learn what I need to before they hatch.

Also, I've read that some "chicken mothers" are homicidal. How are new mothers meant to act? Do they continue sitting with the babies? Are any homicidal tendencies obvious, like do they start pecking at them or something?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[RedSky1]

I asked neighbor who is Amish about this. He told me dont worry leave them there. I fed mine for about a week in coop. Both water & chick feed after they hatched. Moses the Amish neighbor said the momma would take care of them. She did and not one fell out. It wasnt long & she had them in coop yard. She did stay out at night in yard curled up with babies for a couple weeks too. We just shut gate to yard every night. After that theywould follower her up & down ramp to coop. I hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[User395221]

Thanks Redsky, I imagine if they did fall down, they'd fall "soft" and not hurt themselves. It's hard not to worry about how they'll do, though, if any actually hatch. I expect it'd be easier to take things in stride if you do it a lot, but this is the first time I've ever tried hatching eggs.

 

[RedSky1]

This is my first time having chickens at all. The chicks did great. I did loose two of the 4 chicks. One didnt seem right & never opened his/her eyes. The other one kept squeezing through corners in lot fencing. It was there at night as I made sure of it. Next morning it was gone. No feathers or nothing. I think fox got it. It got a few of the big ones before we bush hogged pasture & neighbors bush hogged too. It got our only two ducks too. Our cats are terrified of chickens. So I know it wasnt them. Dog leaves them alone as she got pecked once and that was enough for her.
I hope all goes well for you. This being all new... I'm learning by trial and error.

 

[User395221]

I hope all goes well for you. This being all new... I'm learning by trial and error.

Thanks, yes, we all learn by doing, it just helps to have people to ask so that you don't make preventable errors, and it helps keep the worry down. No matter how much I tell myself that it's natural for some eggs not to hatch, and natural for some chicks not to survive or thrive, when you have lived in a city all of your life, that isn't as easy to accept as it would be for country people who've dealt with it all their lives.

Three weeks isn't a long time, but it seems a long time when you've got eggs under your chook

 

[RedSky1]

Lol its exciting every day for me. We love our chickens. I do in home care and have a lady that has dementia so bad she doesnt remember her grown childrens names. But she remembers me as tge Chicken Girl. Lol guess one can be a bit crazy about their chickens.

 

[User395221]

The eggs I've put under my chooks are a variety. A couple are "bigger chooks" than my little girls and the silkies that are some of the eggs. If those ones hatch, will my girls still look after them if they are bigger? They won't get rejected because they are different, I hope. (these are the types of things that pop into my head.... worry, worry, worry)