broody orpingotn has eggs to hatch and its working what do i do !?

[chickchicks]

hello

i have not been doing this very long at all , one of my buff orpingtons decided to go broody i tried alsorts to stop her but inthe end she won!
i gave her 3 fertile eggs tosit on.
i checked last night and it sems at least oneof them is working woooo
problem is i have no idea what to do if it hatches .......
i guess you give it those chicken crumbs but what else do they need vacines? how do i tell if wilma is doing a good job?
do they need extra heat ? how do i tell if it ends up being a boy or a girl

any help would be great and much appreciated

thank you

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

K- calm down

don't do anything right now except put some food and water close to her nest (no layer feed). You'll be able to tell if she's a good mom, her whole world will be centered around those babies. They wont need any extra heat, mom will handle that. All you have to do is keep them fed and watered, and sit back and enjoy your broody family. That's the best part of hatching eggs under a hen, they do all the work. Enjoy them

 

[chickchicks]

thank you so much i feel a bit better now !!

one of them is definatly fertile ( i can see a chicken outline) and the others is a mystery as they are marrow eggs to dark for my little torch to work i like supprises though .


i shall take away thelayer pellets then and find something else for her to eat, i have been giving her lots of corn and fresh veg thought it would fatten her up abit so she does not loose to much weight!


they are i think due to hatch if all goes well on the16th August 2011 so fingers crossed xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[amynbrent]

My first egg hatched on 7/28. I was such a paranoid freak over nothing! I seperated the mom and baby because I thought the 40+ grown chickens in the coop would kill it. No. The mom takes care of the baby. I put them in a tote and both were always out. I couldnt figure out how but the mom puts her baby on her back or under her wing and takes baby out. She actually took baby outside this past weekend. Mom is ALWAYS with that baby. The other chickens take some interest in the baby but mom puts them in their place now little Iris is running all over this run and coop with them. If she gets nervous or peeps mom comes running. All I can say is other than being parent and raising my own watching chickens and their babies is one of the most amazing things I have seen. I have 3 more in an incubator I have homes for two, I'm hoping to let the broody mommy take care of the third if I cant find it a home.

 

[chickchicks]

thank you for the help feel a little better now
i do hope all goes well id love to see who they act together. as i only have two adult chickens betty and wilma !
betty is very skitish and does not llike being alone , and like to botherwilma all the time wilma is more than happy to tell betty where to go at the moment !

im very excited now and cant wait . i have just bought them a new home to a nice 6*4 shed , but that will have to wait i guess might as wellletwilma stay where sheis if sheis happy and comfortable.

what breeed is iris ?

 

[chickchicks]

H andanother questtion

do you have to vaccinate them against anything? and if so how is it in there food ?
thank s

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Quote:
I don't vaccinate or feed medicated feed to my home hatched chicks. But that's my own personal choice. If you want to build immunities for cocci, buy a bag of medicated chick starter for them. Good luck!

 

[Judy]

Usually, broody raised chicks get some immunity from mama (they eat a little of her poop.) All they need from you is chick feed and water, really.

You can just feed everyone the starter or grower the chicks need; won't hurt them a bit. Offer oyster shell on the side so laying hens can get the calcium they need. If you have part of a bag of layer, hang it high enough that the chicks can't reach. My mamas always raise their chicks with the flock so I don't even buy layer feed any more, just grower or flock raiser. Medicated is your choice. You can even eat the eggs from layers who are eating medicated feed, as long as it's medicated with amprolium.

 

[chickchicks]

thank you very much

another stupid question if there not medicated can we still eat the eggs?
if they are born they wontbegoingfar justmy back garden with wilma and betty my two adults

 

[AK Michelle]

Keep us updated so we know how this turns out