Help please. I'm new to chickens...

[Mesha12]

Okay so a friend gave us some roosters and chickens. I don't know how many we have of each. He normally let's them roost in the trees so we are too until we find a way to make a coop. Anyways the kids have found 10 eggs and the under the grill cover. Will the hen lay on them and keep them warm? They are on the ground what can I do to help them to get them to hatch.

 

[lilmillefleur]

Welcome to BYC!
If you can get pictures of the chickens we can help determine which are hens and which are roosters.
You may have to get rid of some of the roosters.
The hen must be broody to sit on eggs. You can’t force her to be broody. Having a broody breed helps. You can tell if she is broody because she will sit on the eggs, and puff up, growl, or peck you if you try to take the eggs.

 

[aart]

I don't know if all the other 5 are roos but my luck they are lol.

Sounds like someone is using you to get rid of all their roosters, not much of 'friend' IMO.
So all these birds just wander loose around your place and you feed them?
What are your goals for having chickens?
and....Welcome to BYC!!
Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!

 

[adstowe]

Everybody has opinions on hen to roo ratios, but regardless of what they think is ideal pretty much everyone will agree 5 roos to one hen is not going to work. If you want eggs get rid of most (or all) of the roos and add more hens. If you just want to have chickens for fun and you like what you have then get rid of the one hen. The roosters might do fine together, but her life will suck and she may cause fighting between them. It's not fair to her to have her be the lone female with 5 males. Even if they seem OK now. Consider that they were just moved and not comfortable yet and spring hormones haven't hit. It won't be good.

 

[bobbi-j]

They have to stay on the eggs during the day and night to hatch the eggs right? Also normally we only have roosters..

Correct. The eggs will not hatch if the hen is not on them day and night. I'm not sure what you mean by "normally we only have roosters". Do you mean you've had roosters in the past, but no hens? (Your title says you're new to chickens. Do you mean chickens in general, or hens?) It's a little confusing, because roosters are also chickens.

From the picture you just posted, it looks to me like you have 3 roosters and a hen. If that is your only girl, she's going to have a hard time with all those roosters wanting to breed her. I'm not going to quote ratio numbers, but I can tell you that 3 roosters to one hen is way too many roosters.

 

[lilmillefleur]

How big does a coop have to be or what can it be made out of (cheap ideas) and how do I get them to go into it.

The rule of thumb is 4 square feet of space in the henhouse part and (if you plan on building a run) 10 square feet per chicken in the run.

Lots of people make coops out of recycled pallet wood.
The best way to get them to go in is catch the chickens, preferably at night when they are sleeping, and lock them in the coop for a week or so they know it is their home.

 

[bobbi-j]

How big does a coop have to be or what can it be made out of (cheap ideas) and how do I get them to go into it.

The recommended coop space is 4 square feet per bird inside, and 10 squar feet per bird in a run. So, if you have a coop that's 16 square feet, if you were to follow the recommendations, you'd have room for 4 birds. When I am acclimating chickens to a new coop, I put them in it and leave them locked in for a week or so. I also have an attached run so they can go outside. I wouldn't leave them in a small coop for a week at a time because that can cause other behavioral issues.

 

[bobbi-j]

I don't know if all the other 5 are roos but my luck they are lol. If so than I will either get rid if her or get more hens. So seeing how there are about 10 eggs and at night she's not on them does that mean they won't hatch? Or is there a way without the incubater to help them hatch?

They will not hatch if she's not on them night and day. If she's not broody and you don't have an incubator, you're not going to get any to hatch.

 

[adstowe]

She isn't going to hatch eggs unless she goes broody. This isn't something you can control. It's a hormonal thing and has been bred out of a lot of chickens, so she may never. Odds of her doing it in winter aren't very good either way. Scrap those eggs. You can pick up an incubator and hatch eggs from her (i'd use new eggs), but this really isn't the best time of year to have chicks. I'd wait till spring. I love fresh eggs. If I were in your situation I'd pick the best behaved roo, get rid of the others and add more hens. That's based on my wants though. Explaining why you want chickens may help with people's advice.

 

[Mesha12]

Like I said they don't have a coop they sleep up on that thing in the picture by my house.