broody hatch

[kidarcy]

i have two broody hens that have been sitting on eggs, just noticed one little fluff ball this evening. one egg starting to crack and one dead chick..........so once the eggs start hatching what do i do? ive got water and chick starter on hand......just sit back and let the momma's do the work? i've incubated plenty of eggs and raised under heat lamp. but my first go round at letting momma's do the work
Thanks!

 

[danielkbrantley]

Mama will do it all. Had a broody hen and did a switcheroo with some foster (day-old) chicks. Mama has really done a great job taking care of them. I don't know what your set up is, but I put a small dog kennel in the coop with mama and babies, so mama could have privacy and protect her babies easily, while still being seen by the rest of the chickens, so integration won't be a problem. After a few days, the chicks started popping out of the kennel, so now (a week later), I leave the kennel door open all day, so they can get out and run around all they want, with mama in tow. Pretty fun watching her teach them the ropes. Have fun!

 

[AtlantisPeeps]

I agree with what Daniel said.

HOWEVER, keep close eye on the mama when the eggs are about to hatch. I only say this because when my broody heard the chicks peeping, she went into murder mode and tried to peck the babies to death before they even hatched. 3 torn membranes and all but 1 of the 9 chicks died. Just keep an eye out.

Have an incubator on hand just in case she abandons the best.