Hatching new chicks in hen house

[jen2013]

This is the first time i've allowed my chickens to sit on eggs.
the first mom hatched one baby, there were 2 eggs. and I took the chick on day 2 and gave her two friends i got from TS.
they are doing well. During the warm days i have a chicken tractor i have by the hens and i let them stay there to have more room then under the heat lamp. they are almost ready. I'm afraid to introduce with the other hens (10 hens) I'm not sure of the right thing to do. I can't make a chicken coop everytime we have new chicks.

well, i had several hens lay in the same nesting box normal. but one hens is sitting on alot of eggs and the others now lay in a separate box. (those are the eggs i take) its been about 3 weeks so i know it should be soon.
I would like for the baby's to stay in the hen house now the weather is warmer but i know they'll be like the other chick and jump down from mom. My question is...if i let them stay with mom in hen house will they be safe? do I need to take them all, and if so, how do i reintroduce and exactly when is a good time to do that if possible?

thank you

 

[HEChicken]

I don't really understand why you took the chick away from its mom - to me the beauty of broody hens is having them raise the chicks so I don't have to mess with a brooder and then reintroduce to the coop later on. If they are raised by the mom, they are already accepted members of the flock from the beginning.

I segregate my broodies so they can sit on their eggs in peace, and let them raise them for the first few days in a broody coop like this, which is located in the chicken yard:


Once the chicks are a few days old, the Mama Hen lets me know she wants out and she then shows her chicks around the yard. At first she will return here to sleep but at some point, she'll move them to the main coop to sleep, once they are big enough to get up on the roost with her.

 

[jen2013]

well i've tried to introduce new chickens once before and they get pecked bad.
After the chick was 2 days the chick was outside the hen house into their running around area and mom kept trying to cover her frombeginning rain and other chickens were all around when i saw so maybe from them. I got scared and took the baby. I was told if i moved mom and chick the mom wouldn't take care of the chick. that they have to keep their same nesting box.
anyhow what i'm calling a chicken tractor is what you have a picture of,. Now the chicks are older, thats what i've been letting them go in on warm days. I have it next to the hen area so they are around each other.
So now i'm at this point, when they are large enough to go with hens should i maybe let them all out and around each other on neutral ground so to speak then when its time to go up for the day maybe put them all together if they were doing good on neutral ground. any suggestions appreciated.

so with my hen on eggs now, am i suppose to move her and the eggs before they hatch.
i would love to see mama with all her little chicks i just want everyone to be safe.

 

[HEChicken]

Introducing new birds is a stressful time for all involved. But generally if the chick is born into the flock and part of it from day one, you don't have those issues. Once you separate mom and baby, you will need to wait until the chicks are close to the same size as the adults, before introducing them, or they will be pecked and bullied and likely get hurt. That is why I prefer to leave them in the coop and not have to worry about those introductions later.

Every broody hen is an individual. I've had hens that were so determined to sit, they didn't care where they did it and moving them was no issue. I've had others that chose a place to sit and didn't want to sit in the place I chose for them. Last week I had a duck who wasn't even broody but I suspected she was collecting a clutch so I decided to move her to where I want her to brood so that when she was done collecting her clutch she'd already be in the right place. She saw a nest with straw and a couple of eggs in it and wham! She was broody.

When I have a hen I suspect is fixing to go broody, I wait a couple of days to see if she is sleeping in the nest. At this point she is not sitting on eggs I want her to hatch - I'm just seeing how serious she is. Then, I move her at night when she is sleepy, putting her in the broody coop with nesting materials and a couple of the "dud" eggs so she gets the idea. If she makes a nest and starts sitting on the duds, after another day or two, I slip in at night, remove the duds and replace them with the eggs I want her to hatch. Then I leave her in the broody coop for the remainder of the time she is brooding. She is safe from other hens squeezing in to lay their eggs in her nest, and when the chicks hatch, they have a quiet, safe start to their lives. Generally the hen will stay on the nest for the first 2-3 days after the chicks hatch, since she knows they don't need to eat or drink at this age, and this gives any late hatchers a chance to make it. Once they are all hatched, she will lead them out and encourage them to eat and drink, but will sit often to let them get under her. My broody coops are not very large so it usually isn't long before she asks to be let out. I let her take the lead on that. I have never had other hens try to attack the chicks that are associated with a broody hen. As time goes by, she shows them around, and later, teaches them to get up on the roost with her. They are integrated into the flock from a young age and I don't have that stress over introducing birds that everyone sees as intruders.

 

[Beecharmer]

Hi I was wondering what size of tractor or caged house is good for just the one hen hatching out 10 eggs? I am going to do it your way

as I was really worried about separating her

she is a standard Cochin hen in a mixed flock. My hubby will build it for me.
thank you for any help on this.

 

[Morrisbacon]

can your hubby find me someone to build me one?

 

[50-45-1]

Hi I was wondering what size of tractor or caged house is good for just the one hen hatching out 10 eggs? I am going to do it your way

as I was really worried about separating her

she is a standard Cochin hen in a mixed flock. My hubby will build it for me.
thank you for any help on this.

I use broody hutches that i built from reclaimed materials. They are about 5 ft long and about 3 feet wide.
After the eggs hatch i leave mom and chicks in the hutch for about 2 weeks, then at night transfer them to my walk in coop to a nice cozy floor nest of straw.
The broody does all the integrating. .