HELP, What to do with hen to hatch eggs.

[Gailann]

I have a hen who wants to lay on her nest to hatch eggs. Do I seperate her from the others with her eggs now or do I leave her on her nest (which is quite high off the ground) until a certain time before I move her closer to the ground in a seperate run? Also, once they hatch how long do I wait to allow the other hens to be around the chics?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

If she was my hen, I would move her to a place where the other hens cannot bother her or lay in her nest.


I keep the hen/chicks separate from the others but still in the same pen and I have them sleep in the coop (using a small plastic dog kennel).


At about 4 weeks I start letting Mom n chicks out with the rest of the flock. Make sure you have a couple days to watch in case you need to rescue a chick or break up a fight.



Enjoy - broodies are the bestest!