Broody hen and raising chicks in cold weather?

[CMthomas]

We have 6 guineas and 4 female chickens and one rooster. We hatched some guinea eggs in our incubator successfully this year but I never really cared too much about breeding the chickens. Mrs. Brown Hen has gone broody (I don't know the exact breed, she's a bantam, brown with feathers on her legs)

Anyway, all 4 female chickens have laid eggs in the this one corner on the floor. We have no nesting boxes up high yet, they don't seem to care. I put lots of extra pine shavings in that corner to protect the eggs and make a nice fluffy nest.

I don't really care to take heroic measures and bring the eggs inside to incubate. I figure, let her try. Why not? But I'm in Central Indiana, in about 2 months it's going to get chilly. If we really do just let nature take its course and some of those eggs hatch successfully, is the mother hen generally going to have the instinct to keep the chicks inside the hen house to protect them from the cold? We have a heated hen house (by heated I mean big heat bulb up on ceiling and heat tape around waterer). They can go outside to hang out inside a fenced in large run area.

Do we need to prepare some sort of extra protected space for the baby chicks? Is there a danger of the guineas eating the babies? Do I need to remove the chicks once they are born? I'm kind of of the "just let it be" mindset but I also don't want to be dumb about this. If there's something simple I can do to help her out. I'd like to do it.

I have no interest in moving this broody hen, she's gets SO ANGRY when I get near her. I'm pregnant too so I understand her feelings - being an incubator is rough.

 

[HEChicken]

As far as providing heat, there is nothing you need to do. Mama Hen will keep them warm, but don't expect her to do it by staying in the coop. She will have them out and about from the beginning. Its surprising how cold the little chicks can take it - they just run and snuggle under her when they need to warm up.

What I would do, is string a little chicken wire around her to give her a private corner, wherever she is brooding. That will prevent the other chickens from squeezing in to add their eggs to her nest. You don't want new eggs being added because they will all be at different stages of development. Also, the chicken wire will protect the new chicks as they are hatching. It is not unheard of for adult chickens to snatch the babies as they hatch and kill them. I suspect guineas would be just as bad about that.

What I do is segregate my broody per the above with her own food/water inside her little area. After the chicks hatch, I leave the new family there for a few days. Mama lets me know when she is ready to go out with the rest of the flock and from that point on, she seems to be able to protect her babies from the flock.

 

[CMthomas]

Thanks! I like the chicken wire idea. The info on this site suggested the top of a dog crate too but chicken wire would give her more space. Do you think I'd need to put chicken wire over the top too? The guineas can fly, they are aggressive towards the chickens (just running at them a lot) but I have yet to see them mess with her in the corner.

Also I can't seem to figure out how long to expect this to take - guineas are 28 days in the incubator. Is that true for chickens too? All breeds?

 

[blasterresto]

chickens will take 21 days from incubation, as mentioned mamma will do everything.

 

[HEChicken]

Thanks! I like the chicken wire idea. The info on this site suggested the top of a dog crate too but chicken wire would give her more space. Do you think I'd need to put chicken wire over the top too? The guineas can fly, they are aggressive towards the chickens (just running at them a lot) but I have yet to see them mess with her in the corner.

Also I can't seem to figure out how long to expect this to take - guineas are 28 days in the incubator. Is that true for chickens too? All breeds?

I don't think it would be necessary to put chicken wire over the top as long as you are using 4' or higher wire. In my experience, chickens can jump/fly to 4' if there is a solid surface to land on, but if the landing surface is as flimsy as the top of a chicken wire fence, they won't risk it.

Chickens take 21 days although in my experience, eggs under broodies usually hatch around day 19.