Brood hens hatching eggs

[The Blind side]

Hi i am interested in what to do once my baby chicks arive? I am worried tthat if im not around when they hatch the roosters will kill them as they are quite aggresive and would be confused to see a new chick in the flock ! Should i bring my broody hen in with the chicks and make them live in a box or should i seperate the broody from her chicks and raise them up myself ? But if i remove them from her , wont she be cross that she put all this effort in and she hardly spends time with them?thanks, my chicken eggs hatch this friday!

 

[junebuggena]

Are your roosters aggressive with each other and the hens? If they can live peacefully in a flock with other roosters, a broody hen with chicks should not be a cause for violence. It's part of the natural instincts to take care of the hens and their babies.
Where is your broody hen nesting? Is it possible to set up some sort of pen around her nest area so that the flock can see what's going on, but not disturb the new family? The flock will show some interest in the little peepers, but the broody hen should keep them away for the first few days.
If it turns out that the flock is just too interested after a few days, or the broody ends up being a terrible mother (not all broodies are good moms), then you should absolutely take them in and raise them away from the flock. You can try to slowly introduce them into the flock when they are older and big enough to handle the pecking order squabbles.

 

[The Blind side]

I guess you could say they aggressive with the hens as we have like 7 rosters and 12 hens because the lady we ordered them from set us up by giving us to many roosters so she could get rid of them but they all try to jump the hens and that but they don't attack them spesides one rooster who always wants to jump in the hens best box and chase her out to try hump her. They are sitting in a nest box in the coop , there are 2 hens sitting on 10 eggs and I think they are mixed breed bantams so they can only fit about 5 eggs under themselves. But we are worried that they could be accidently stood on or kicked etc. thanks

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hens have been hatching eggs and raising chicks with the flock for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians incubated eggs and brooded the chicks themselves long before electricity was controlled. People have been isolating broody hens for a long time. People like to think all this is new or modern but it has all been going on for thousands of years. There is nothing wrong with any of these methods, which way you decide to go is just the way you decide to go.

Yes, bad things can happen if the hen incubates, hatches, and raises the chicks with the flock. Bad things can happen if you isolate her or decided to do any of these yourself. You are dealing with living animals. Good things and bad things can happen. There are no guaranties.

A mature rooster’s instinct is to take care of all members of his flock. This especially includes young chicks. Not all roosters are good roosters but I have never seen a mature rooster harm or threaten to harm a chick at any time. I have seen some roosters (not all but some) help Mama take care of the babies. They are living animals so no one, including me, can give you any guarantees on how they will act but I’ve never had a problem with roosters and baby chicks. Immature cockerels can be more of a problem however.

My hens don’t go out of their way to attack baby chicks but if a chick invades her private personal space she may peck that chick to remind them it is bad chicken etiquette for a chick to bother its betters. Usually that peck is all it takes for the chick to run back to Mama. That’s usually the end of it. If the hen threatens the chick though Mama politely but firmly kicks butt. She does not allow anything to harm or threaten her chicks. You are dealing with individual living animals. Not all broody hens are as good as some others but most are very protective of their chicks.

You can let the hen hatch and raise them with the flock. You can isolate the hen and her chicks if you wish. You can take the chicks away from her and raise them yourself if you wish. She will be upset for a few days but will get over it surprisingly fast. There is nothing wrong with any of this but you might want to isolate her. It sounds like you are stressed, mainly by the unknown. You would probably be les stressed if you isolate her.

Good luck!

 

[The Blind side]

Thanks everyone for the helpfull advice ! If you are someone reading this thread please comment your opinion as well because i am still thinking what to do , maybe i will get small rabit hutch and put it in inclosure so the rest of flock will be more comfortable with it ... Thanks !

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you do isolate her and the chicks, make sure the wiring is tight enough that the chicks cannot escape. If the chicks leave Mama’s protection and mingle with the flock on their own where Mama cannot protect them they are at risk. That’s one of the bad things that can happen if you try to isolate them.

No matter what you do there are risks.