Complete newbie needs help!

[catd5b]

OK, now I'm really intimidated. I posted this on a mom's forum as there are many moms on there with chickens, but nobody's responding, so I'm sure you all can help, I'm just scared b/c I know I sound like a true idiot - I'm sorry, I'm learning! Here's my post:

So we have about 16 chickens, 2 roosters. My husband had chickens growing up, I didn't. He has a very laid back attitude as far as how much we need to follow "rules" about chicken husbandry, and this came up when we discussed whether to try and let some eggs hatch, b/c from what I read you really needed to separate the mom from the other chickens while she was sitting on her eggs and he didn't really think it was that necessary and well, it never really came to a decision b/c we'd have some sit on their eggs for like one day but then we'd find all the eggs abandoned so we just figured we would not deal with hatching any eggs and we'd collect them all for eating.

This arrangement was working fine but now we have this one little warrior of a chicken who is sitting on those eggs with all she's got and I simply do NOT have the heart to move her off them - I've seen her have stare downs with other chickens that have come to pick on her and she just freezes with her eyes wide when I come in to collect all the other eggs.....so I really can't see taking her off of her eggs she's so dedicated to. She's been sitting on them about 4 days now.

So what I'd like to know is: what do I need to do for her? Like in the immediate future, should I be bringing her food? Should I be separating her from the other chickens (which would involve moving her which I am afraid to do b/c I don't want to upset her and ruin the whole thing for her). Also the whole separation thing I'm not sure about b/c the chickens have two coops which are connected to a main outdoor area, so to separate her I guess I would dedicate one coop to her only and try to block off a small section of the outdoor area for her.....or could I just block the door to one of the coops with chicken wire so that there's air flow - guess I feel bad shutting her up in a coop, but really, she's doing that to herself right now so I guess she likes the isolation and dark.

I don't know, I'm just feeling not so smart about this whole thing and would like to try and avoid any baby murdering going on by the other chickens (I would NOT put this past them at all, some of them are kind of bullies) So any advice is hugely appreciated. TIA!

ETA: Also, I know I'm showing my ignorance, but how long til the eggs should hatch?

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

Welcome to BYC.
Hey, we all started in the same position you are in. Don't be intimidated by it all.
As for your little broody hen, let her set if she is going to. She will generally get off the nest once a day to eat, drink and poo. If another hen gets in on her eggs in that time then you might have to kick her off and put your broody back on. Do you have any idea of how many eggs she has under her? When she has as many eggs as she wants then she will stop laying. If you can get under her, take and mark the eggs so you know what she has.
An egg in the incubator takes 21 days to hatch. Under a hen it can take longer because she will move eggs around to slow the process until all her eggs are layed.
If you have bully chickens and are worried about the hatchlings then I would suggest seperating her from the flock. A small pen just a couple of feet wide and a few feet long will work for a while. Make sure she has food and water in with her in case she wants to eat or drink. You can move her and the eggs pretty easily. Provide her with a fairly dark nest area and move the eggs and then move her. She should settle right back onto them.
Other than that, just let nature run it's course.

 

[catd5b]

OK, thank you so much. Just going ahead and moving her is what my husband wanted to do, but I thought that seemed like it would disturb her too much, so good to hear a second opinion. Also great that we can set up a pretty small area to separate her into - I'll ask him to build something like that and then we'll get her moved!

Is there anything I should know about when the eggs hatch? Do they need a heat source if its already hot here and they have mom with them? What about food?

 

[chickpeaz]

I'm a newbie too -- just wanted to say

You will get lots of great help here. Unfortunately it won't be from me so I'll just keep my mouth shut and let the experts help you!

 

[Judy]

Best to move her at night. No, the chicks won't need a heat source if they are with the hen, as she will be the heat source. Offer both hen and chicks chick starter feed. It is fine for the hen for the few weeks she will be raising the chicks. It does not have enough calcium for an egg lying hen but she won't lay while she raises the chicks, anyway. When the chicks are around 4 weeks old (this varies,) she will turn them loose in the flock and start laying again.

Many on here recommend keeping the hen and chicks separate from the others. I didn't do that. I did have the broody in a separate cage while she was setting, simply to keep the others from bothering her or trying to get on her nest. Every morning when I opened the coop, she would get up, so I opened the cage and she would go run around for maybe 20 minutes, eat, drink and poop. Then she'd get back on the nest and I'd close the cage. I hand fed her something in the afternoon but she would not get off the nest except once a day in the morning.

The day after the first chick hatched, I removed the cage. All hens and chicks are doing fine together. The same hen raised a chick the same way last year. Mine hatched on day 21. Other hens do sometimes attach chicks, though I never saw mine do it. A good mama hen will protect and defend her chicks.

 

[IggiMom]

I really believe in separating a broody from the other hens. If you do a search on it, you will see that people have really had problems when they didn't. Of course, sometimes you don't have problems. If nothing else, you will be almost sure to get fresh eggs mixed in with the eggs being incubated, so you will have eggs hatching at different times, not a good thing. You can always mark the eggs she is setting so that you can remove the ones that are fresh.

There is a good way to move a broody that works. I think this is the link:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=162759

I hope I got all those numbers right.

I just LOVE a broody hen, that fanatic look in her eyes, how she croons to her eggs. She deserves a place just to carry on and not be bothered. This is just my opinion, of course.

Catherine

 

[zowieyellowflame]

I am new to this too, as an adult. My husband and I both had chickens when we were kids, but not since.
I have 2 broody hens. Both have hatched, one 2 weeks ago and one a few days ago. I did not separate them, but while they were hatching I built..... er ah placed an enclosure around their nest box. (3 pieces of wood, 12 inch high, 18 inches long, 12 inches wide, screwed infront of box) It kind of doubled the size of the box and this did well for about 4 or 5 days. One of the broody hens nested up high in a box, so I did move her once the first 2 chicks were born. I took a cardboard box flat (canned beer flat actually with one end removed) and slid it right under the bedding and all. I moved the hen, eggs, chicks and bedding all in one move. She didn't mind at all. Well, she made some verbal protests, but I think she was relieved. Her chicks are only 10 days old and already they hop right out of the little enclosure.
Food.... I served my broodys but you dont have to I guess. I gave them regular food, water and clover. They seemed to appreciate it.
I have other aggressive hens, but they don't hurt the chicks. The moms are good protectors and now the hens pay no attention. The rooster actually gets right in there, doing his dad duties and helps to teach scratching, cleaning, eating and so on. I was worried at first, but..... I don't want to lock them up and separate for weeks and weeks. I don't have extra fence. I just decided to allow things to happen as they will.

 

[IggiMom]

I don't think she was asking if a hen and chicks should be separated, I think she was asking about whether a broody hen should be separated.

I say again, do a search and see what others experiences have been.

When reading throughout the forum, I still think the preponderance of opinion is that a broody hen is better off by herself.

And they do get off to poop and eat and drink and rearrange their eggs a few times daily, usually, and should have food and water nearby.

It takes about 21 days for chicken eggs to incubate.

Catherine