Broody Momma Hatched An Egg! Now what??

[DuckDuckPromise]

Hey there!
We have a beautiful hen (Miss Ellie!)
Who has faithfully sat on a clutch of eggs, and I though I knew she was broody, I didn’t know if they would actually hatch. Only one of her eggs hatched, I assume it has something to do with the absolutely crazy weather this month, but I’m honestly not sure.
We have incubated and raised baby chicks inside, but have never had a broody to actually hatch a baby! Praise the Lord, we are so thankful for it, and happy to welcome baby chick chick to the flock!!! The only thing is… I have no clue what to do! I don’t want to bring her in to raise, because she is VERY attached to Momma, plus she is an “only child” so I don’t want her to be lonely!
Do I separate the Momma and baby from the rest of the flock?
Do I leave them with the rest of the flock? There’s only one rooster inside the coop, and he didn’t seem to be bothering the baby, but obviously I can’t be watching 24 hours, so there’s no telling what’s happening when I’m not looking.
Miss Ellie is being incredibly protective, and when I picked up the baby chick, she was not happy with me! And baby was mad too. Any suggestions on what to do with Miss Ellie and “child”?

 

[Yardmom]

Personally I leave chicks to be raised in the coop by their moms. Most hens ignore chicks. It is very rare for a rooster to bother a chick. You just have to make sure the chick can get to food (feeding all flock crumbles to the whole flock works well) and the water is chick friendly.

 

[DuckDuckPromise]

Personally I leave chicks to be raised in the coop by their moms. Most hens ignore chicks. It is very rare for a rooster to bother a chick. You just have to make sure the chick can get to food (feeding all flock crumbles to the whole flock works well) and the water is chick friendly.

Awesome!! Thank you so much! I have big water bowls for the other birds, and I can add a chick waterer, but do I need to remove the big bowls?

I really appreciate your help!! That works well too, because I have heat seat up in the big coop! I’m sure baby will appreciate that


She was sitting on everyone’s eggs, so I doubt the one that hatched was “hers” but if I show you a pic of Baby, Momma, and Rooster, do you think there’s ANY chance of telling if it was hers or not? I feel like it probably wasn’t just because it looks nothing like Miss Ellie, but I don’t really understand all the dominant traits and such! That’s above me!
I don’t care either way, just a little curious!

 

[Yardmom]

Chicks can jump into deep waterers and drown. I would suggest removing them.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Congratulations on a successful hatch!

 

[DuckDuckPromise]

Chicks can jump into deep waterers and drown. I would suggest removing them.

Well that seems like a silly thing for them to do! Thank you so much for the info! What type of waterer would you suggest? I have tried the big 3 gallon water types, and they were a nightmare. Honestly, I’ve really not found a “waterer” I like, hence using the bowls (thick rubber bowls) but I’m open to suggestions! Thanks again for all of your help!

 

[DuckDuckPromise]

Congratulations on a successful hatch!

Thank you so much! That’s ALL God and Miss Ellie, I was so excited it find the baby!!!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

This sort of thing, available at your local feed store. You can also just buy the plastic bottom and put your own quart jar on (regular, not wide-mouth).

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I get more waterers than I need, as the waterers somehow get stinky. Then I can put a clean fresh one in with the chicks while the dirty one goes in the dishwasher or gets a soak with Dawn dish soap and a spot of Clorox overnight, followed by a good scrub and a thorough rinse, ready for use!

 

[DuckDuckPromise]

I get more waterers than I need, as the waterers somehow get stinky. Then I can put a clean fresh one in with the chicks while the dirty one goes in the dishwasher or gets a soak with Dawn dish soap and a spot of Clorox overnight, followed by a good scrub and a thorough rinse, ready for use!

Oh wow, good deal! I have used those for brooders in the house, but never for the big birds, I assumed they would just knock it over! How do you keep it upright?