Broody hen hatching in coop

[Newchickadee30]

Hello,
I started with one broody hen and now have 3 on eggs in my coop.
We have a pretty large coop. I believe it’s 14ft x 12ft and only houses our 8 hens.
I decided to try and leave my hens in the nests they picked in hopes that with having space from the others they can raise their chicks without having to be moved.
I have placed another water and feeder by the nesting boxes so mamas don’t need to venture far.
All three are sitting very tight on their eggs.
Here is my issue. Their nesting boxes are quite high off the ground. Once the chicks hatch (fingers crossed) can I just move mama and her chicks right away to a covered nest on the ground of the coop?
Should the Mama hen stay with her chicks there since they can’t get back up to where they hatched?
My back up plan was to move each hen and chicks to a separate shed once they hatch, having in the end (2 week span) all 3 hens and chicks in the shed together, but ideally if I could I would like to see if everyone could coexist in the main coop.
Thoughts?
I know I might go through a ton of chick starter as my other hens will nibble at it. They always have access to oyster shells for calcium.
Also can my layers eat medicated chick start if they have already been vaccinated as chicks themselves?
So many questions I hope for my hens and chicks I’m doing this all right!

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

Hello,
I started with one broody hen and now have 3 on eggs in my coop.
We have a pretty large coop. I believe it’s 14ft x 12ft and only houses our 8 hens.
I decided to try and leave my hens in the nests they picked in hopes that with having space from the others they can raise their chicks without having to be moved.
I have placed another water and feeder by the nesting boxes so mamas don’t need to venture far.
All three are sitting very tight on their eggs.
Here is my issue. Their nesting boxes are quite high off the ground. Once the chicks hatch (fingers crossed) can I just move mama and her chicks right away to a covered nest on the ground of the coop?
Should the Mama hen stay with her chicks there since they can’t get back up to where they hatched?
My back up plan was to move each hen and chicks to a separate shed once they hatch, having in the end (2 week span) all 3 hens and chicks in the shed together, but ideally if I could I would like to see if everyone could coexist in the main coop.
Thoughts?
I know I might go through a ton of chick starter as my other hens will nibble at it. They always have access to oyster shells for calcium.
Also can my layers eat medicated chick start if they have already been vaccinated as chicks themselves?
So many questions I hope for my hens and chicks I’m doing this all right!

Most medicated feed is to treat coccidiosis, typically vaccines are for marecks.
Do you have a rooster? Post says coop only houses 8 hens.
The broody hens will get up every day for what will seem to be an eternity. She will dust bathe, eat, drink, use bathroom, and just wonder around clucking.
We just hatched our first 5 eggs and learned a lot from a lot of these wonderful byc people.
Definitely use a sharpie and mark the eggs. I didn't. While hen was eating someone else layed more eggs here and there. Those eggs started to develop but the hen had 5 chicks to care for so she left the nest and undeveloped eggs to raise chicks. "A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush". I would recommend you separate them at ground level. Day 1 my chicks were walking around out of the nest.

 

[JaeG]

Some people make it work, but I have read horror stories of hens fighting over chicks and babies getting trampled and killed in the process.

Unless the eggs all hatch at the same time the fact that one hen can hear chicks might make her switch from sitting to mothering even though they may not be her eggs that are hatching, so she may stop sitting on her clutch. You will also need to monitor the hens when the eggs hatch because some like the thought of having babies, but the actual babies are scary and some hens kill them because they don't understand what to do next. Others are naturals and love their babies. You won't know which way they will go until their eggs are hatching.

I have a bantam wyandotte who is broody all through summer, but she has killed a chick when I let her sit on eggs, so she is not one I will let hatch again. I did give her another chance and moved her to a separate area but she broke some of the eggs and wouldn't settle properly, so she's definitely off my 'good mothers' list. My Old English Game bantams are fabulous little mothers though.

Do have a back-up plan in case it all goes to custard.

Your laying hens also cannot have medicated feed unless you are not going to eat any of their eggs.

 

[Shezadandy]

Corid (amprolium) is fine for laying hens- there is no withdrawal period. It is an anti-protozoan as opposed to an antibiotic. At least here in the US it is one of the few things permitted for use in active laying hens by the FDA, there's no need to discard any eggs if feeding medicated (that's the "medicated" part, a low dose of amprolium).

That said - I like to use either Flock Raiser (20% protein) or non-medicated Start and Grow (18% protein) -- and ALWAYS have a bottle of Corid on hand to use should someone become symptomatic, then everyone gets treated.

BUT... you can't use Layer feeds because they are too high in calcium for the chicks. Momma hen won't make any distinction between one or the other, so everyone has to eat the same thing. Just make sure you've got oyster shell available on the side for the active layers.

With respect to where to hatch etc --

Personally I like to have mine hatch in a crate in the house so I can make sure it's all going well. I try to keep them in a spot where I can hear what's going on, making sure the hen is talking to her chicks as they begin the pipping process etc. The worst sound in the world is a sweet little baby chick getting pecked hard by a hen. Fortunately this is rare, but I've even seen one that picked up the new hatchling and flung it.

Wherever they hatch, make sure the chick cannot jump or fall out- put a barrier of at least 8" up - I'm always amazed by how high the little buggers can jump within a day or so. Momma will not go down to rescue anyone that's fallen from the nest.

No matter what - wherever you decide to have them hatch - make sure other hens cannot enter her nest.

I cannot emphasize this enough. And realize that a broody-raised hen can start to hatch as early as day 18 !!!

Once the egg starts to hatch it goes from something the hens routinely step on without consequence to something that can be easily crushed. A hen defending her space can step right on a hatching egg and quite possibly kill the chick inside. Someone might try to poke in and lay an egg and step on it that way - or chase momma off - hear the peeping and peck with lethal consequences.

For the first 4-5 days the chicks are in what I call their "Pollyana" stage where they don't think anything can go wrong and don't have the sense to get out of the way should mom decide to confront a flock member. I usually wait until around day 7 to put the broody and her chicks with the rest of the flock. By then the chicks are faster and have a better sense of self-preservation.

As for having multiple broodies - you'll hear it go both ways - one steals all the babies and drives the other moms away ... another group co-parents the chicks ... or they keep a respectful distance and all is well. Until you're there doing it you won't have any idea how it goes.

The other factor in adding them to the main flock is how well the hen protects her chicks, or if she's overly zealous and sees boogie hens everywhere and overreact.

A trick I learned when adding a hen and her new chicks back to the flock - add a treat like a Flock Block - something that takes a lot of effort to pick at. The distraction of the Flock Block serves to have something that takes their attention off the addition of the chicks while mom shows them around their new quarters.

 

[JaeG]

In New Zealand medicated chick starter has a 10 day egg with holding period if fed to laying hens but for meat there is none. But that must be to do with the coccidiostat being used.

 

[Newchickadee30]

Corid (amprolium) is fine for laying hens- there is no withdrawal period. It is an anti-protozoan as opposed to an antibiotic. At least here in the US it is one of the few things permitted for use in active laying hens by the FDA, there's no need to discard any eggs if feeding medicated (that's the "medicated" part, a low dose of amprolium).

That said - I like to use either Flock Raiser (20% protein) or non-medicated Start and Grow (18% protein) -- and ALWAYS have a bottle of Corid on hand to use should someone become symptomatic, then everyone gets treated.

BUT... you can't use Layer feeds because they are too high in calcium for the chicks. Momma hen won't make any distinction between one or the other, so everyone has to eat the same thing. Just make sure you've got oyster shell available on the side for the active layers.

With respect to where to hatch etc --

Personally I like to have mine hatch in a crate in the house so I can make sure it's all going well. I try to keep them in a spot where I can hear what's going on, making sure the hen is talking to her chicks as they begin the pipping process etc. The worst sound in the world is a sweet little baby chick getting pecked hard by a hen. Fortunately this is rare, but I've even seen one that picked up the new hatchling and flung it.

Wherever they hatch, make sure the chick cannot jump or fall out- put a barrier of at least 8" up - I'm always amazed by how high the little buggers can jump within a day or so. Momma will not go down to rescue anyone that's fallen from the nest.

No matter what - wherever you decide to have them hatch - make sure other hens cannot enter her nest.

I cannot emphasize this enough. And realize that a broody-raised hen can start to hatch as early as day 18 !!!

Once the egg starts to hatch it goes from something the hens routinely step on without consequence to something that can be easily crushed. A hen defending her space can step right on a hatching egg and quite possibly kill the chick inside. Someone might try to poke in and lay an egg and step on it that way - or chase momma off - hear the peeping and peck with lethal consequences.

For the first 4-5 days the chicks are in what I call their "Pollyana" stage where they don't think anything can go wrong and don't have the sense to get out of the way should mom decide to confront a flock member. I usually wait until around day 7 to put the broody and her chicks with the rest of the flock. By then the chicks are faster and have a better sense of self-preservation.

As for having multiple broodies - you'll hear it go both ways - one steals all the babies and drives the other moms away ... another group co-parents the chicks ... or they keep a respectful distance and all is well. Until you're there doing it you won't have any idea how it goes.

The other factor in adding them to the main flock is how well the hen protects her chicks, or if she's overly zealous and sees boogie hens everywhere and overreact.

A trick I learned when adding a hen and her new chicks back to the flock - add a treat like a Flock Block - something that takes a lot of effort to pick at. The distraction of the Flock Block serves to have something that takes their attention off the addition of the chicks while mom shows them around their new quarters.

Since they are already in their eggs do I dare try to move them now to a new coop?

 

[Shezadandy]

Since they are already in their eggs do I dare try to move them now to a new coop?

It could go either way. Because you have multiple hens that are broody, I would mark all the eggs that you intend to hatch - Hen #1 gets her eggs marked "A1, A2 etc", then Hen #2 gets hers marked "B1, B2 etc" and so on.

The hens will be the determining factor. Moving at night is one very important component.
If you do attempt to move them now, I would give the developing eggs of Hen #1 to Hen #2 to keep warm, so if Hen #1 has a poor opinion of having moved, her eggs are safely snug under another hen- using unfertilized eggs in her new nest for a day or two (while her eggs are with the other hen(s)) to make sure she's happy with her new location.

It seems once a chick has pipped under the hen and you hear the unmistakable "peeeeeppppp", the hen doesn't care nearly as much where she is, and is more attached to the eggs, and successfully transplants wherever.

The alternative is to enclose the boxes the broody hens are in - leave them open so the hen can come and go as she pleases while brooding up to day 17--- but have the capacity to shut her in with the eggs for the actual hatch to avoid interference from other hens.

When I was doing most of my brooding in the main coop, I fully enclosed the broody nest boxes, leaving a food and water dish in there--- and removed the hen once a day (picked her up gently and set her on the ground) to do her daily constitutional- so she wouldn't be pestered. Worked pretty well.

Now with my crating system, I take them out to a special pen once a day for 20 minutes for the first 17 days -- then back to the crate - and when we get close to hatch - day 18 on, there's a railing I set her on so she can relieve herself and then back to the crate (where there's always food and water). Mine go out once a day to the rail with the exception of the period of time where the majority of eggs are hatching.

To me, the consequence of a hen not being able to hold it in is far worse than the interruption of going outside (always at night once a day) to poop on the rail. Many say don't interrupt after day 18 ... which is extremely fine advice. Having found myself with hens that can't hold it that long ...

If she "lets go" in the nest because all those fluffy chicks are tickling her undersides ... then you've got a hen whose bottom is covered in poop, possible chicks covered in poop- and the worst smell of all time that must all be cleaned off the hen, the nest any any other collateral damage, much more disruptive than a quick trip outside. They learn what's supposed to happen on those visits to the rail.

Regardless of where she's hatching, the nest in the coop or in the crate - because things are heightened once there are chicks and peeping eggs -- before she goes back to the nest, any unhatched eggs are removed from the nest when the hen is lifted out for her break. Before she goes back in, any hatched chicks are directed to a corner while she settles back in, much relieved, then the chicks go back under, then her eggs are returned.

 

[Sonya9]

Did you mark the eggs with the date? If not do that ASAP (like tonight) before new eggs appear (and they will). A hen house with open nest boxes is NOT a natural environment to incubate eggs or raise chicks.

Most everyone that has broody hens on eggs tries to move the nest (at night) into a separate pen inside the coop. Hens do not like having their nest moved so finesse is required. If they incubate inside open nest boxes stuff tends to go horribly wrong with broken eggs, or accidentally abandoned eggs, or dead chicks. It usually turns into a cluster-cluck.

But the #1 most important thing right now is mark the eggs with the date so you don't have chicks in the same batch hatching at different times then remove all new eggs that appear daily. If eggs are on different incubation schedules it leads to lots of dead embryos/chicks later.

 

[Sonya9]

Personally I like to have mine hatch in a crate in the house so I can make sure it's all going well. I try to keep them in a spot where I can hear what's going on, making sure the hen is talking to her chicks as they begin the pipping process etc.

Yup I do the same thing. I move the nest into a cat carrier and when the chicks are due to arrive (either hatch or she is given store bought chicks) the cat carrier comes into the house for a day or two so I can make sure nothing goes wrong.

We aim for *zero* casualties! Plus the hens love those carriers and keep sleeping in it (with the chicks) until they start to roost.

 

[MarkJr]

My broody raised hers with the flock no issues at all.
I’ve heard multiple broodies are prone to kill others clicks, but cannot say personally.

As for tall boxes. When they hatch, it’ll be handy to contain them until momma comes off the eggs. After that she will nest on the floor or wherever she decides is a handy spot to keep the youngsters.