Help! Chicken Brooded10 Keets

[Euphemia]

I just went to put my chickens up and noticed some egg shells on the coop floor. My broody hen has hatched 10 keets! My question , now what do I do! They are a couple days old. Should I move them to a brooder? They are way up in a nest box. Any help would be appreciated. These are my first baby keets. I have only raised baby chicks and I am not sure what to do. I don't want to lose them.
With Thanks!

 

[sourland]

I would move the hen and keets to a protected coop/pen and allow the hen to raise them.

 

[Euphemia]

Thank you1 Great suggestion. I have never hatched even chicks before.

There are several other eggs still under her, should i just move them all to a protected place. i am also wondering about feed and water for the little ones and the mama. will she do fine on baby feed or should i offer her her own feed. Thanking you in advance.

 

[PeepsCA]

I would move the hen and keets to a protected coop/pen and allow the hen to raise them.

X2

A protected coop/pen (or sectioned off area in the coop/pen) is your best bet for keeping the keets alive... but make sure the rest of the flock can see the Hen and babies so they will hopefully be more willing to accept the babies once you start letting the Hen and babies out.

Provide a high protein game bird or turkey starter for the keets and a waterer that the keets cannot get in and drown themselves in (add marbles or clean rocks to it if you need to). Momma Hen will be fine on the starter feed but you can provide her own feed for her up higher (out of reach of the keets) if you want. If you toss in greens or any type of treats for hem I'd also give them access to some chick grit or some really fine gravel.

You can move the left over eggs with the Hen and keets, but they may have died during development or were infertile, so I'd candle them before you put them under her to see if it's even worth your effort.

You may want to keep the Hen and keets penned up for at least 2 wks before you try letting them out, so the keets are hearty enough to go traipsing around. Momma Hen may or may not want to bring them back to the enclosed area or coop once you let her out, so be sure to get her and the babies back in each evening. They will get chilled easily, plus the predators may get them. Keets can fly by a couple weeks old, so wherever you have them contained to will need to be covered.

Hope it all goes well, and Congrats! We'd love to see some pics once you have them all situated

 

[Euphemia]

Thank you, thank you! My husband woke me after midnight to show me the new babies and I was a little beside myself finding my first keets! I have a brooding coop that will be perfect for mama and babies. Feed store opens at nine and I have all equipment handy for babies, except perhaps the marbles! I can't thank this community enough for all your help! Will keep you updated!

 

[jcatblum]

I have a rose comb RIR hen who raised keets last yr. She still plays the mother role to them & they are at least 10 months old now. It worked out great, except they are the only guineas I have that roost in the chicken coop.

 

[Euphemia]

Our broody hen was actually just a baby herself. I am not sure she even laid her first egg! She was having a hard time between caring for the keets and continuing to lay on the unhatched eggs. We lost one that was partially hatched out, so I took the babies away from her and put them in a brooder. None of the other eggs hatched . She is still broody and with 60 laying hens she can find a new egg to lay on faster than I can take them out from under her! I think the outcome would have been different if she had been an older hen.

 

[jcatblum]

I put my broody hens in a seperate cage to keep control of the growing nest. Those determined hens make it so hard!

 

[Euphemia]

No kidding! I put her in her own space, however she just couldn't seem to coordinate teaching the keets to eat and drink and sitting on the nest and tending to the hatching keets. I am on my way to the vet to put my beloved GSD down. She is 10 and has suffered from a siezure disorder for years. I think she has been having little strokes the last few weeks. She has been very disoriented. No siezures but walking into walls. It's time. A sad day at my house.

 

[jcatblum]

Putting down a loved pet is so hard. Sending good thoughts for you & your family.