First attempt at letting a broody hen hatch chicks

[ShrekDawg]

Ok I have a question. When I raise chicks we keep them very warm in the brooder, I have noticed since mama hen is raising these that they are not under her much staying warm except at night. I had them out in a small run I made for them and it was only 72 degrees out and they were dust bathing with mom and spreading their little wings out running around and looked very comfortable in the weather. Why is it they can take the cooler weather?

Well to me 72 is still very warm but besides that point, I think it's just because chicks are a lot more hardy than we give them credit for. Mother hens raise them in a lot colder temperatures.

Ok thanks I get that, I was just wondering if the instructions I got to keep at least one part of the brooder at 90 degrees was accurate, I did fine with it but now it seems excessive.
My brooder is also outside in a barn but I also live in Florida so the temps are not that cold. I do have fans in my coops for summer weather too.

People like to baby chicks and overly protect them but realistically they wouldn't have the whole area heated and would just go under mom, as you've experienced. But I also think feed store people and most people just don't know any better or follow tradition and plus they don't wanna risk having people freeze the chicks.

Yes, the trick for brooder raising them is to create a spot where they CAN simulate the 'duck under mom' to warm up.  Once you see a broody raising chicks in October-Nov in Oregon and how little time they actually spend under her, the way we baby them in the brooder does seem excessive.  The important part to remember is with a broody, she's everywhere they are and she is protecting them from flock members, "getting lost" and so on- she talks to them a lot, whereas we check sporadically, are gone for hours and so forth.  =)

I agree but I don't think the whole brooder needs to be 90, they just need to have a space to get warm.

Speaking of which, have any of you heard of the MHP (Mama Heating Pad) method? I used it with my chicks and it worked great and IMO is a lot more natural (and safer) than a heat lamp. You basically just create a heating pad cave and they go under it as needed just like they would with mom. And they don't roast to death.

There is a thread on it somewhere

 

[Shezadandy]

Yes, MHP is wonderful. From the first batch of chicks, I wanted a source of heat that didn't involve light- after all, there's no light under a hen, and it's a big plus that they learn from day one that it's dark at night. Hadn't found the MHP idea yet, so I got a Sweeter Heater (not inexpensive, but it's awesome)- didn't want anything to do with a heat lamp- only as the backup emergency heat.

Then there was a great lucky streak with wonderful broody hens, so I was off the hook for being the heat provider- until one was a rotten no-good mom that kicked her first chick out (it died, still wet, probably from being cold) -- and no, there was nothing wrong with the chick- when I discovered it, I opened the broody hen door and she was G-O-N-E, never looked back- wanted nothing to do with motherhood after they started hatching- so had to hatch the rest in the incubator- was lucky to have just lost one, though I hated losing any.

Anyways- by that batch of chicks I finally found the MHP idea - the chicks were really happy (quiet and content) to be under there straight from the incubator, once they were mostly dry. It worked like a charm for those first couple weeks -- until the little brats started playing the "I need a rescue" game with me.

An important thing to know is it needs to be a heating pad that doesn't have auto-shut-off (some will turn off after 2 hrs) - also need to make sure it will come back on in a power outage. Also good to know that the buggers will go on top of the cave eventually, so when constructing it, make it strong enough that it can't collapse under their weight and hurt chicks in the cave. Lots of great ideas and modifications on the MHP thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

In my case, they all knew how to easily get on and off the top of the cave, they started taking turns 'getting lost' on top of the cave with the others tucked away underneath. They were perfectly safe and warm under or on top- just ended up alone and hating it. Maybe the problem was there were only 4 chicks- if there had been more babies, perhaps there wouldn't have been a lone chick getting upset. They took turns screeching out the peep of mortal distress- and wouldn't stop until they were tucked back in underneath the cave whether I waited 1 minute, 2 minutes, 15 minutes- to respond- non stop distress calls. After 30-40 trips my knees didn't need up and down those stairs, it was time for a change. (slow learner here, they trained me!)

My interim solution was to use a short water tank (same footprint as the ones you see in feed stores) and used my Sweeter Heater over the top of just one side. I used some flagstone underneath there so it was still MHP-cave like- but no more "poor me I'm lost and done for" dramatics - always in sight of each other-- and as they got bigger I adjusted the size of the stone until it was just the floor. The tub still used the 3 sided idea, and the overhang made for an easy daytime gathering area for warming up on a log when they were old enough to leave the tub during the day.

 

[Gorman Farm]

Well its been three weeks since the first chick hatched, at two weeks I let mom and babies incorporate into the coop with all the other chickens, this is younger than I have ever put incubated chicks in with the crowd. It went fine mama hen makes sure no one picks on chicks, and they are all happy and getting along. All in all this has been a fairly easy process. The weather here has been mild, with a few dips at night into the 50's. I have been keeping a close watch and I noticed at night when all the others roost in the coop mom hops into a nesting box and cuddles with the chicks, then she is out before the hens need to use it in the morning.
I bought unmedicated chick food and mixed it with an all flock blend and a bit of scratch, I am feeding this to everyone, once in a while I lock mom and chicks in coop and throw out oyster shell and layer feed in the run when they get done cleaning that up I let mom and chicks back out. Oddly I have 2 EE hens that had stopped laying months ago, one is about 3 years and the other is even older, lo and behold they both started laying again? Extra protein from new food I dunno?
I think I figured out the parentage on all the chicks,

this one is a pure Buff Orpington (I can tell from the plumage so fluffy and different)

the yellow chick on the right is from my white leghorn mix hen and Buff daddy, on the left is the chick that was from the mama hen herself and the Buff daddy

The chicks on the far right and far left are the chicks from my black sex links and the Buff daddy, one in the middle is the mama hens own chick. As they started getting a bit bigger it was easier to tell the black sex links have a distinct beak shape and I can already see it in the chicks.

Just wanted to thank everyone for all the advice and let you know everyone is doing great!!
TY-Denice

 

[rebrascora]

Great to read that they are all doing so well and you are enjoying the broody experience and lovely to see the photos of the fluff butts. It is interesting to see them grow and start to pick out parental characteristics. As regards feeding, don't stress about the oyster shell. Those that need it will take it and those that don't ie the chicks, won't apart from maybe the odd curious peck at it. Many people feed just flock raiser pellets to all their flock and have oyster shell available for the layers to help themselves but if you have layer to use up, a little bit won't hurt the chicks either as long as it isn't the main part of their daily ration.

It is perfectly normal for older hens to stop laying late summer/autumn to moult and then not recommence laying until the days start getting longer as they now are, so probably just coincidence that they have started laying eggs just as the chicks have joined the flock, but the extra protein will certainly help them.

Hope they all continue to thrive.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[Gorman Farm]

One of the hens had not laid an egg for over 8 months and the other had stopped for about 4 months. The younger one has given me 5 eggs so far and the older one 2 eggs after 8 months of not laying a thing. I just thought it was strange. Neither has moulted recently. Just about it, I can tell their eggs because one lays olive and the other lays a light greenish blue egg, they are my only colored egg layers.

 

[Gorman Farm]

Some up-dated pictures. All of the chicks are doing well. Momma hen is still very protective.
Momma hen and two of the chicks, I think the one on the right is hers / Buffie Roosters.


Here is a pic of all five, the one is bent down in the back. Look how fluffy the pure buff chick is in front.


That is my buff orp rooster in the center of pic. You can also see one of my buff hens and one of my black sex links.
This is my set up with an attached run covered so the hawks/owls cannot swoop my chickens. They get closed in at night.

 

[Folly's place]

Cute! One cockerel for sure, maybe two? Mary

 

[Gorman Farm]

Cute! One cockerel for sure, maybe two? Mary

yeah too soon to know for sure but I think for sure the red combed one is a cockerel or should I say "fryer"

 

[Gorman Farm]

Congratulations on your broody hatch!

You should be able to leave things to momma. She'll hang out on the nest for another day or so, to allow the stragglers to hatch. Then she'll get up and start showing the chicks to the world. Leave the door to the crate open and let her come and go as she chooses. She will be so crabby no one will mess with her or the babies. There maybe some introductory pecking, mostly the older hens teaching the littles to stay out of their way. A peck here and there is no big deal. An older hen cornering a chick and relentlessly pecking is another story and would need intervention, but in my experience that is very rare. I've never had a grown rooster be a problem for little chicks.

I think you'll find things go so much easier letting momma do the heavy lifting for you. No integration issues later, etc. They'll just grow up in the flock and find their place.

Ok thanks for the information.
Up-date: Momma hen decided at 7 weeks the babies didn't need protecting anymore, and she pecked & chased them and now they are in the mix fending for themselves. It has been about a week like this and so far no injuries, only problem is at dinnertime I usually feed and close up the chicken coop and now the babies won't go in til everyone else is roosted for the evening. When they try to go in at suppertime some of the hens charge them or peck at them and they run back out into the run. I decided to make sure they get their fair share of food to throw out some food in the run for them while the others eat inside. Hoping as they get a little higher on the totem pole this will stop as I don't like leaving them out and having to go back out to close them in, so many animals to take care of in the evening, including grumpy other half that wants dinner...LOL