Broody hen and if eggs hatch question

[Harmoni]

I bought 6 fertilized eggs for my broody to hatch (it's her first time being broody so I ordered a cheap incubator too jic). My question is: Do I need to isolate her with the eggs or chicks if they hatch? We have one other laying hen, 2 soon to be laying pullets and 4 5 week old chicks that are in a pen inside the run.
Will the other chicken bother her eggs when she leaves to eat, drink and poop? Will they attack the chicks? The broody is 2nd to the top in pecking order and I had read that was a factor.
I only have a medium dog crate I could move her and her nest to. My extra coop and pen are being used by the 5 weekers.
Any advice is appreciated!

 

[CluckerFamily]

I personally choose to separate her into a crate but keep it in the coop so that I don’t have to do any integrating. I leave the crate door open so she can leave as she wished for food and water plus I have food and water in the crate for her. When it gets closer to hatch time, I close the crate door so she and the chicks aren’t bothered.

 

[Harmoni]

I personally choose to separate her into a crate but keep it in the coop so that I don’t have to do any integrating. I leave the crate door open so she can leave as she wished for food and water plus I have food and water in the crate for her. When it gets closer to hatch time, I close the crate door so she and the chicks aren’t bothered.

I'm not sure I can fit a dog crate in my coop. The crate I have is likely too small also
My smaller coop and pen would work but I think it is too early to intergate the 5 week olds to the older ones. How small of a crate is too small?

 

[sdm111]

Yes hens can and will abruptly kill chicks that are not theirs or sometimes even their own

 

[Harmoni]

Yes hens can and will abruptly kill chicks that are not theirs or sometimes even their own

My broody hen won't protect them?

 

[Harmoni]

20in tall, 24in long and 18in wide are the dimesions of the crate I have. It would fit in my coop but I think is too small.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My broody hen won't protect them?

Mine always protect their chicks. I typically raise three or four broods with broody hens every year and have never lost a chick to another adult. Some people have. The problem with dealing with living animals is that anything can possibly happen. You just don't get guarantees one way or the other.

Do I need to isolate her with the eggs or chicks if they hatch?

I let my hens incubate with the flock, hatch with the flock, and raise their chicks with the flock. Some people isolate the broody and eggs/chicks in any or all of these phases. We all do these things differently for our own reasons. I don't consider my way right with every other way wrong, I look at it as we do things differently.

Will the other chicken bother her eggs when she leaves to eat, drink and poop?

Sometimes another hen will get in the nest to lay an egg when the broody is off the nest. Sometimes the other hen might join the broody in the nest to lay an egg, mine often do that. Some broody hens will keep other hens from joining her in the nest but most of mine share the nest without a fuss.

There are two risks with this. If the broody hen does not want the other hen to get on the nest and lay an egg while she is on the nest she may fight to keep her off. Eggs may be broken in that fight. I personally have never had that happen but a few people on this forum say they have. Sometimes if another hen is on the nest when the broody returns from her daily constitutional the broody may return to the wrong nest. I've had this happen a few times, not many. I put the broody back on her nest when this happens and I've still got good hatches, even when the eggs feel really cold. It's not a good thing to happen but so far it has not compromised any of my hatches.

Will they attack the chicks? The broody is 2nd to the top in pecking order and I had read that was a factor.

M broody hens have always protected their chicks, no mater where they are in the pecking order. Others I trust say they have had hens to not protect their chicks. My dominant rooster has never threatened chicks but you don't have one so that doesn't matter.

My hens don't go out of their way to threaten the chicks though again some people say they have had hens do that. You just can't tell what will happen with living animals. If a chick leaves Mama's protection and invades the personal space of another hen it may get pecked. Often it will. One thing I've seen several times, usually when the chicks are about two weeks old. A chick leaves Mama' protection and goes to stand with other hens as they are eating out of the feeder. The other hens might leave he chick alone but usually it doesn't take long for one of those hens to peck that chick. The chick then goes running back to Mama as fast as its little legs can move it, wings flapping and chirping for all the world to hear. Mama typically ignores this, the chick has learned that it is bad chicken etiquette to bother its social betters. But if a hen follows that chick to teach it a further lesson Mama whips butt. Nobody threatens her babies.

You have several others that are not grown hens. Those can be a threat to the chicks too, maybe worse than the adult hens. But since they are immature Mama can easily scare them. I often have different aged juveniles in the flock, Mama has always been able to manage.

Now it's time for my warning. What you do not want is for the chicks to get somewhere Mama can't protect them. If that happens they are in danger from the other hens or juveniles. If your chicks can get in with those 5-week-olds and Mama cannot get in there, the chicks are in danger. I lost one once with 8-week-olds because of that. My fault, a baby chick could get through the gate. If you try to isolate the broody and her chicks and the chicks can get out of that enclosure they are in danger. If you try to isolate make sure you isolate.

The more room your broody has to work with the easier she has it. That's in the coop and outside both. From reading your posts I'm not comfortable you have a lot of room. My coop is 8' x 12' and I have over 3,000 square feet outside for them to use. I think that is a big reason I don't have problems. You don't have as many chickens as I do, which factors into space requirements. A lack of space can cause integration issues too. If your room is limited that might be a god reason to isolate the broody. But if room is limited integration later may be an issue.

Good luck, however you choose to go forward.

 

[Harmoni]

Thank you for all the advice! Our coop is 5.5x6 so not tiny but not big either. It's full size so has more than one level. I took some measurements and I could fit a 3×2×2 crate in there.

Very good point about the crates and slate spacing! I will have to add some chicken wire to either my isolation area or the 5 weekers pen.

I honestly wasn't planning on hatching eggs so I am doing this on the fly. I didn't expect a broody RIR at 9 months old.

My other option is intergating the 5 weekers ( they will be almost 8 weeks by hatch time. And moving mama to that pen.

My secure run that stays open to the coop is 8x5 plus a triangle. And then we have the daytime run that is 14x12ish.

I am trying to convince my husband to add another 5x6 daytime area off the back of the coop. I could theoretically add another small coop back there.

I am driving my husband nuts with my constant add ons lol.