Hatching eggs with broody hen

[Mountaineer]

I don't have a rooster so I plan on buying fertilized eggs and letting a broody hen hatch them. Will she protect them from the rest of my flock and what must I do to ensure they have food inside the run? My run is 8' x 15' and I have 11 hens. My coop is 8' x 8'.

 

[Animals45]

Yes, the mother will protect the eggs.

 

[Melky]

I’m not sure about the hatching part. Probably taking a chance that she may not sit on eggs since not her own. You are getting close to max numbers based on recommendations for providing 4sq ft per bird in coop and 10 sq ft per bird in run. Following these guidelines you should probably only get 5 more to avoid flock behavior problems and diseases for total of 16 birds. That’s the max for the coop but puts you at slightly less than ideal in run which should then have 160 sq ft for 16 birds. Not sure how many you were planning.

 

[chickens really]

Hello. My Broody Hens are put in a Crate and I either leave her to hatch right from the start in the Coop or set her up in my garage Brooder and introduce her back to the flock when chicks are about 3 to 5 days old. Chickens don't care who's eggs they hatch as long as it's an egg. I have a Silkie Broody due to hatch in 4 days..

 

[Acre4Me]

I don't have a rooster so I plan on buying fertilized eggs and letting a broody hen hatch them. Will she protect them from the rest of my flock and what must I do to ensure they have food inside the run? My run is 8' x 15' and I have 11 hens. My coop is 8' x 8'.

Hen should protect chicks, I’ve heard some posters indicate if the broody hen is low in flock hierarchy, sometimes has a harder time with that, but those broody/momma hormones are pretty powerful, so I wouldn’t worry.

Your initial concern will be her staying broody to hatch the eggs, as some hens will stop partway through. But, a broody doesn’t care whose eggs she hatched. After all, some broody hens steal eggs from other nests!

 

[Melky]

For food make sure you have something like a 20% Flock Raiser or a starter grower 18-20% (20% preferred for better growth here) protein feed that everyone can eat. At 3 weeks baby chicks need chick grit. After 8 weeks new chicks need poultry grit. Keep OS on side for laying hens. Also multiple feeding stations helps to reduce conflict at meal times.