First time hatching with broody hen

[ceegac]

Hi
Wondering if I can have some advice please - we have four chickens, 2 are silkies. One silkie was broody so we bought some fertilised eggs and she's been sitting on them - we expect them to hatch this weekend (hopefully!). We bought a small separate coop but every time we try and move the broody hen in there she just goes back to the main coop and leaves the eggs, so we panic and move the eggs back! Any advice on how we can move her into the new coop with the chicks, so they are not at risk from the other chickens? Or do we not need to worry about this? When and how would we be best to make the move?

Also any other tips for a first time having chicks? We have a chick feeder and waterer at the ready!

How much and when can I let my 3 year old near the chicks - she's mad about the chickens and walks about holding them a lot so will have to temper expectations with the chicks!
Thanks
Gayle

 

[DobieLover]

Any advice on how we can move her into the new coop with the chicks, so they are not at risk from the other chickens?

She doesn't need to be moved away from the other chickens.
She's already grafted to her nest so you have to leave her where she is. Did you ever candle her eggs during her incubation?
How much space do you have in your coop?
What breed are the other 2 chickens?
Is your coop elevated or ground level?
How large is your run?
Can you post pictures of your setup?
What are you feeding the flock? If you haven't already, they need to be switched over to chick starter with a container of oyster shell on the side for free choice feeding by the active layers. Chicks (and for a while their hatch mother) should not be eating layer feed. Mom will feed the chicks and bring them to water. You also need to make sure your waterer is chick safe or that you have a second chick safe waterer for them to use.

BTW...

 

[ceegac]

Hi
Thanks for the speedy reply!
This is our setup below - the eglu coop is where the two silkies, rhode island red & bluebell all stay together. We bought the wee wooden box thinking we would use it for the mother hen & her chicks but she just won't stay there! There's probably space for them all in the coop as we candled and only 2 eggs with chicks which we are hoping will hatch soon. It's all open so worried about the water / feed situation - which was why I hoped to have the mother & chicks seperate with their own food & water.
During the day the door is open and the chickens roam quite widely around the garden.
G

 

[DobieLover]

Your setup is really tiny.
You don't have room for the number of birds you have let alone new additions.
Are you in the process of building a bigger (and secure) coop for them? The chicken wire is not predator proof at all. Practically anything can break through it.

Again, you have little choice but to leave her put. When the chicks hatch, they stay under or near their mother until she takes them off the nest. She and her chicks need room that you do not have. That tiny little wood coop isn't good enough for them either.

Have you ever considered modifying a shed or other existing structure into a coop? They really need something much larger than what they are currently in.

 

[Altairsky]

It's basically an open air coop, as long as this person live in a raccoon and bear free area, chicken wire is okay. The space is also enough considering that the birds free range during the day. Yes the coops-inside-the-coop are too small, but overall the space is enough.
Would be ideal to turn the open air coop into half closed coop and half run, and get rid of the 2 pre-built micro coops.

 

[DobieLover]

It's basically an open air coop, as long as this person live in a raccoon and bear free area, chicken wire is okay.

And dog free, fox free, rat free, mink and weasel free, Fischer free....
Chicken wire is only good for keeping chickens in, not predators out.

A broody hen needs much more space than a laying hen.

 

[Altairsky]

Where I live I never had a rat chew trough chicken wire. They chewed through wood though. We don't have stray dogs. Cats never chewed trough chicken wire. No bears, no coons no possums. In 20 year I only lost a bird to a snake (my own pet snake ) and one to a weasel (which didn't get through chicken wire anyway) so it all depends on which part of the world someone lives. OP has space so the space problem is easily fixable.
Moving the broody is always a problem so I don't really know what I would do in your situation, just let she hatch where she is now I'd say and see how it goes. But if you want to hatch again in the future you need a bigger coop with multiple nests that you can easily isolate with a little fence so the hen can sit in peace until the chicks are around 4 days old. At that point they can free range.

 

[pollopdx]

Hello, I have a similar question/experience with where the mama is nesting. We have a large fenced in area (former dog run) that my 7 hens and 1 rooster roam around in. Two henhouses they split up and sleep in at night (they seem to switch between them from time to time, strangely). Everyone lays in the same coop though, where my broody mama is now on day 12 of sitting on eggs in one of the nesting boxes. She's been great and no issues with the others so far, but I've tried moving her and the eggs twice to a kennel (in the evening) and she wasn't having it. She didn't understand the new nesting area and didn't recognize the eggs as hers so she settled in on the ground next to them. So I gave up and moved eggs and mama back to her regular box. I candled a few days ago and think the eggs survived it.

I've also been concerned that once the eggs hatch the babies will be in danger from the other chickens, so I've planned to move mama and babies to the kennel I prepared. It looks more like a dog kennel with wire slats, all the chickens will be able to see each other. I've put a bin on its side with pine shavings so there's a warm bedding area, and tarped much of it as we're going into rainy season (Portland, OR).

• Do you think mama will take to the new area if I move her and the babies once they hatch? Will she go crazy if it's only about a 6x3' space?
• How in the world do I protect them while hatching still in the henhouse, or do I just cross fingers and hope mama can defend them from the other curious girls and the rooster? And wait for them to all hatch?
• It's going to get down to the 40s at night and possibly upper 30s but I'm hoping she can keep them warm enough outside in her little plastic bin with pine shavings. Am I wrong - should I look into a heater plate or move the babies (not mom) into the garage instead of outside? I'd really prefer for mama to raise them outside if possible.

I will add pictures tomorrow but didn't want to lose this thread for now - thanks!!

 

[pollopdx]