Broody hen accepted surrogate chicks-now what?

[CorinneK]

I had a hen go broody and I went through the process of giving her 4 chicks. She has happily accepted them and they are now all snuggled up. My question is, what now? Every guide I've read stops here. So far it's been a few hours (around 3) and they have stayed under her the entire time. How often should they be leaving to eat and drink? I have a chick feeder and waterer setup right next to the nest (I moved her to the floor because the nest box was a little too high for the chicks to get in and out of. Will that be okay? She doesn't seem to mind.) and I dipped their beaks in the water a couple of times so they should know where it is.

This is my first time having a hen raise the chicks so I'm trying to make sure I do everything right!

 

[arwoon]

They will be fine, she will show them the food and water. congrats on her successfully adopting them!

 

[Ridgerunner]

You've already done more than I do. I put food and water on the coop floor and leave everything else up to the hen.

What your coop, run, and pop door look like will affect this some. And each hen is different, can't forget that. My broody hens typically keep the chicks in the coop for a couple of days before they take them outside. Once mine take them outside they pretty much stay outside until close to bedtime. All day every day. At bedtime she brings them back in the coop to sleep. My nests are up high so the broody takes them to sleep on the coop floor somewhere. I don't have a nest on the floor, yours might use that nest or go somewhere else.

You need to be down there at bedtime to make sure all the chicks are OK. A couple of times a chick has gotten separated where it could not follow Mama. That is really rare but with these critters about anything can happen. If chick is separated it will be peeping for all it is worth. You will know.

Be careful if you pick up a broody hen. I killed a chick once. It crawled up under the broody hen's wing and I crushed it when I picked the broody up. Not a good feeling. I'll still pick a broody up if I have a need but I'm really careful when I do.

Congratulations on a success. Here's hoping for the best in the future.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

My blue Cochin went broody two years ago t the same time my alpha went broody. The alpha was in a rarely used nest box, but Blue was in the prime spot. She got chased out after a week or so while the alpha was left alone and successfully hatched and raised seven chicks. This year, my Speckled Susse, Dottie, who is middle of the pack, went broody in the seldom used box. After about thirteen days, I successfully sneaked six day-old Brahma chicks under her and she is raising them with the rest of the Flockers. She is very protective (and has even beaten down my alpha!), but the Littles are already eating and drinking with the other six hens.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

Your job is mostly done now Keep food and water nearby and mama hen will take care of everything. In addition to that, I would add a dish of chick grit so she can teach them about that too. Congratulations!

 

[CynthiaDown]

She is in the shared coop. I kept the others locked out of the run for the first couple of hours to let them bond and when I reopened the gate one of the other hens came in to lay. A few have briefly come by to eat from the feeder as well, but for the most part they hang out in the yard during the day. I've been keeping an eye on them and so far none of them have tried to bother her. She is kind of the boss hen around here so I would be suprised if they tried anything. Should I have her separated or is this okay?

I'm thinking the pecking order matters... maybe. I had a broody hatch and lay one egg about a month ago - worked great! It was my first baby chick. She was pretty much kept in the coop locked up with the baby for a day or maybe two. I started leaving it open and the other hens came in and there didn't appear to be any major problems - baby is thriving and sticking right by mama's side to this day. I thought to my self "self, that was so easy and fun! Let's do it again" when I had another chicken go broody but this time with 5 eggs! (p.s. Silkies are the BEST brooders). The exciting day came and the babies hatched - I peeked under and saw the sweet little balls of fluff. I didn't really separate or monitor except the very first night as they were being hatched and I kept the coop closed off from the other chickens. The next day left it open (like last time) and later that day all but one of the babies were dead. I naively thought they had something wrong with them or didn't get water but the one was active and healthy so I shut the coop during the day to let it freely run around the coop with mamma. Then, I naively thought I'd let the other chickens in for the night sleep and open the coop in the a.m. After all the chickens cleared out in an hour or so went out and the last baby was dead and mamma was sitting on it. I believe it was killed by one of the other chickens. Not sure why one of the chickens did fine with keeping baby safe and this one didn't (pecking order maybe??? They're both near the bottom) but I will never let that happen again. Next time I'll segregate mamma and hen in a space in the coop until there is integration. I'm so sad and sorry!!!

 

[CorinneK]

Your job is mostly done now Keep food and water nearby and mama hen will take care of everything. In addition to that, I would add a dish of chick grit so she can teach them about that too. Congratulations!

Thanks! The grit is a good idea, I will definitely do that!

 

[CorinneK]

They will be fine, she will show them the food and water. congrats on her successfully adopting them!

Thank you! That's a relief. Even though the hen is doing all the work this time its somehow more stressful than raising them in a brooder myself. I just need to relax and let her do her job!

 

[Yardmom]

Are they in with the flock? If not Integration into the group will be the next step. There are several ways to approach. Having them in sight of the flock can help the transition.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Congrats chicky grammy!