Hatching eggs question

[Grand-hen-ma]

This might sound stupid, but I don't know the answer.

Ok, there seems to be a lot of things to do to hatch eggs. Why not let the hen sit on the eggs and let her hatch them and keep them warm and teach her babies how to forrage and so on? Is there a reason so many people are into hatching the eggs? It seems like so much work and heartache.

If the mother hen does this, are she and the babies supposed to be in a cage by themselves?

Thanks for educating me.

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Well, you can't MAKE a hen go broody, so if you want to hatch eggs and don't have a broody hen, then you have to use an incubator.

And many of us hatch WAY more eggs than any hen could ever sit on.

Also, hen-raised chicks tend to be more flighty and afraid of people than brooder-raised chicks.

A lot of people leave the broody hens in the coop with everyone else, BUT you run a much higher risk of something happening to the chicks that way.

 

[Razadia]

Quote:
x2 I have gen raised chicks and you can't get near them.