Ever had a winter broody?

[iliv4chicks]

thank you! i can now breathe a sigh of relief!

 

[suzroemer]

that's a great idea. Where I live in NY we are expecting a foot of snow tomorrow. I'm new to the chicken world what is broody. My hen just had her first egg hatch she is sitting on three more. The baby is under her and hasn't come out is it ok? I hear it chirping. I mama and baby and eggs in my home in a tupperware bin do I need to turn the heat lamp on yet? Sorry about all the questions

 

[Varglet]

I have two right now. The chicks in the pics are ones I hatched in an incubator before the Silkies went broody. The baby chicks stay inside the house, in my bedroom (I have 25 babies right now).The black chick belongs to one of the Silkies, don't know which, but the golden chick is from my d'Uccle.

 

[gardenmist216]

I have a broody duck sitting on 8 eggs right now due in the new year. She has been sitting about 7 days now.

 

[suzroemer]

Wow!! When do the chicks come out from under mama?

 

[fancychicken]

We had an egg hatch 4 weeks ago. Our hen is such a good mother. This is my first winter having chickens. I'm worried about how cold it has been. I have been keeping mother and baby separate from the other chickens. Does anyone have any ideas of when I can move them with the others? Or any other suggestions about taking care of chickens in the winter time?

 

[brinda t]

My broodie silkie just hatched two chicks during a very bad ice storm so I brought her and the babies inside!

 

[wood&feathers]

Fancychicken, this is my first year with a winter broody, but we've had broodies every year for the last 3 in spring and summer. When you allow the broody and her biddies to integrate with the flock is a judgement call. It is easy if the momma hen was near the top of the pecking order. When that happens, I only isolate her long enough to control the eggs and exclude others from disturbing the clutch by laying in it when the hen takes a short break. A top hen will take on all comers, and an experienced broody KNOWS what to do to keep track of babies.

One of my best setters is a cuckoo Marans. We had scheduled vacation last year when she decided to brood. She hatched 4 chicks as we were leaving, then got off the nest. My sitter called in a panic to ask how many chicks she was supposed to have, she counted 6. Turns out she had been packing 2 new ones with her that we never saw! She could also steal other hens' eggs by tucking them under her wing and packing them back to her nest.

Lower ranking brood hens need a secure place to themselves. I have had a couple bad experiences with that...

I prefer my heat lamp next to the drinker (out in the run) to using my heated dog bowl for the chicks. In the morning if it is partially frozen it gives me reason to take it inside and wash it thoroughly. A dog bowl full of rocks sounds hard to clean.

 

[fancychicken]

Thank you for the advice. I think I will move them this weekend. Two of my hens were laying in the same place this summer and then this fall they both wanted to sit on the eggs. We decided to let them sit to see if any would hatch. They took turns sitting on them at first and then the one started to sit on them constantly. Three hatched but only one survived. She is such a good mother.

 

[PrairieChickens]

that's a great idea. Where I live in NY we are expecting a foot of snow tomorrow. I'm new to the chicken world what is broody. My hen just had her first egg hatch she is sitting on three more. The baby is under her and hasn't come out is it ok? I hear it chirping. I mama and baby and eggs in my home in a tupperware bin do I need to turn the heat lamp on yet? Sorry about all the questions

For the first couple of days, the baby won't come out much, if at all, especially when it's cold like this. Newborn chicks are mostly interested in keeping warm and getting their feet under them after the ordeal of hatching, so it's normal for them to stay cozy under mama for a while. After a day or two, they'll get hungry and start exploring the area around the nest, especially if mama is encouraging them to eat. Don't worry about a heat lamp--mama bird can provide all the heat your new chicks will need, especially if you have them indoors.