Broody hen - crate questions

[Kayla's Lunch]

The broodiness ends when she has chicks, right? She is in the crate with the chicks, but she doesn't move around much, but there isn't anywhere to go really. She eats, but it doesn't seem like a lot. She hasn't been out of the crate since we got the chicks on Friday.

 

[azygous]

You hen will remain broody as long as she's nurturing chicks. Between four weeks and ten weeks, she will lose the hormones and will wean her chicks, usually driving them away.

The earliest a broody of mine weaned a chick is at five weeks. This single chick did just fine on her own, and is now a very independent adult.

You need to make food and water handy for your hen so she doen't need to go far from the nest to eat and drink. She will also start showing the chicks how to eat and drink by day three, so make it easy for tiny babies to get back into the nest.

 

[Kayla's Lunch]

Thanks for your reply. I had no idea what to expect. She is in the crated all day with them. The food (Flock Raiser and Nature's Best Chick Started) and water is there. I have seen all the chicks and her eat and drink.