giving a broody chicks after 2 weeks

[junior67]

I have a broody that has been brody for about 2 weeks. She hatched and raised chick last year , well hatched 1 and I gave her the 1 from the incubator as those were the only 2 that hatched. Last year she was broody about a week before I gave her some eggs so total time was around 4 weeks broody..

I have eggs in the incubator that are due to hatch this week (Thurs is day 21 but they hatched early last month) so she will have been broody around 2 weeks at that time. I was going to give her 1 egg (sort of a sacrificial egg) to have under her so she hears the peeping and has one hatch under her then if that went well then give her my other 4, shipped eggs, chicks after they hatched. Has anyone had luck after 2 weeks of being broody? I thought I read at least 10-14 days of being broody before even trying. I am hoping this works since my coop brooder is full so they would need to stay inside till the ones in the coop are fully out of it. LOL

 

[sourland]

She will most likely accept the chicks - especially since she is an experienced mother. I'd go with your plan of placing one egg under her so that she bonds to the chick as it talks to her.

 

[junior67]

She will most likely accept the chicks - especially since she is an experienced mother. I'd go with your plan of placing one egg under her so that she bonds to the chick as it talks to her.

Thank you!

 

[junior67]

ok another question that sort of has to do with this. I will try to make this as uncomplicated as possible.

So I have this broody that is now on 2 eggs that are in "lockdown" and have others in the incubator in lockdown that she will get as long as she accepts these ones and the others with no problems.

I have another broody that I just gave eggs to 2 days ago so due to hatch on the 20th. So the chicks will be 2.5 weeks or so apart.

I brood in the coop which is a raised coop. The chicks last year were fine going up and down the ramp but it took about 3-5 days for them to figure out where mom went when she went up the ramp so I had to watch all the time and help them in by showing them most nights until they figured it out for themselves. the moms last year stayed in the coop with the chicks for anywhere from a few days to a week. Well we are going camping when the last set of chicks are 5-6 days old so maybe around when she brings them out and they can't figure out how to get back in.......

I am building a new coop and expanding my run but it will be able to be closed off from the other run with a door and they will share HWC so the flock can still see anyone in there.... That coop will be ground level so no ramp (maybe steps for little ones since the door will be 6" or so off the ground). Do you think after the chicks hatch I could move the broody and chicks to the other coop? I am worried she will freak out and abandon them... and do I move just her and her chicks or both broodies and chicks?

hope that all made sense. Thanks for any help anyone can give!

 

[Debbie292d]

ok another question that sort of has to do with this. I will try to make this as uncomplicated as possible.

So I have this broody that is now on 2 eggs that are in "lockdown" and have others in the incubator in lockdown that she will get as long as she accepts these ones and the others with no problems.

I have another broody that I just gave eggs to 2 days ago so due to hatch on the 20th. So the chicks will be 2.5 weeks or so apart.

I brood in the coop which is a raised coop. The chicks last year were fine going up and down the ramp but it took about 3-5 days for them to figure out where mom went when she went up the ramp so I had to watch all the time and help them in by showing them most nights until they figured it out for themselves. the moms last year stayed in the coop with the chicks for anywhere from a few days to a week. Well we are going camping when the last set of chicks are 5-6 days old so maybe around when she brings them out and they can't figure out how to get back in.......

I am building a new coop and expanding my run but it will be able to be closed off from the other run with a door and they will share HWC so the flock can still see anyone in there.... That coop will be ground level so no ramp (maybe steps for little ones since the door will be 6" or so off the ground). Do you think after the chicks hatch I could move the broody and chicks to the other coop? I am worried she will freak out and abandon them... and do I move just her and her chicks or both broodies and chicks?

hope that all made sense. Thanks for any help anyone can give!

We've moved hens with chicks to get them from the nest boxes up on the wall to the ground. It seems the mom is more concerned about her chicks than where she's at so never cared where we put her, just so her chicks were there.

 

[BDutch]

I tried several ways dealing with a ramp.
As Debby says its okay to take the chicks elsewhere on the ground floor if you can make a temporary nestbox in a safe place.

I like to let the broody/broodies choose. They should know what’s best.

1. I have prefab coop with 2 nest boxes and a platform in front where I put water and chick feed for the chicks that leave the nest. Blocked the pop door a little for the chicks the first days so the chicks wont go down unintended. But make sure the broody can go out to poop outside the nestbox area if you are around to watch. Try to avoid the chicks to go down the first days after hatch because a (standard) ramp is a hazard with day old chicks.

2. Make the ramp broader and less steep , attach an old towel on it so its not slippery. When the mama and chicks go down, and you have food and water there they probably stay there during the day. The broody clucks for the chicks to follow. Check to be sure all chicks follow.

3. I had one chick that hatched later and took it inside because it couldn’t follow and kept it warm. Gave a few drops of water with ORS (with a little honey , apple cider vinager and a tiny bit of salt in it) . Put it under mama in the evening and was accepted without a problem.

4. You need to check (every 30 minutes/depending on the weather/temp) in the afternoon if all chicks understand how to use the board to go up. When the broody went back up to the nesting boxes at the end of the afternoon, most chicks followed without a problem. But I found two downstairs peeping. I put them on the ramp and they went upstairs immediately. Maybe the chicks would have figured it out , but I’d like to be sure.

5. I made a nestbox of a carton in the covered / safe run downstairs, in case the hen + chicks would stay downstairs. One year a hen did, just for a few days, until the chicks had no problems with the ramp anymore.

6. One time I had two broodies in a small nestbox on a platform in a separate run. I could pick the nestbox up and put it on the ground after the chicks hatched.

Like to read about this years hatch? https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/natural-breeding-project-no5-janice-pearl-broodies-and-11-hatching-eggs--.1574045/