Hen raising chicks quesion

[walker1229]

I couldn't see if there was a form for hens raising chicks so if this needs to be moved let me know
We have a rooster and 5 hens, the rooster is super sweet we wanted to breed him with the hens for new chicks and were hoping to next spring. We have gotten a few complaints even though he doesn't crow early and has a no crow collar but the ones who don't like it work evenings and sleep during the day and say he is still to loud...I have never hear him in our room and can't even hear him during the day unless I have a back window open anyways so we are probably going to have to get rid of him, but we really wanted to breed him for more chicks, but is it to close to winter? Will the chicks do ok with a mama hen keeping them warm? Will we be able to handle them much if a hen raises them or will they always be scared of us? It gets really cold here in the winter so I was avoiding having chicks so they wouldn't freeze....

 

[Blooie]

If he's in with your hens now chances that many - if not all - of those eggs you're getting are fertile now. Break a couple open and look for a distinct white bullseye - not just a white dot - on the yolk to see if he's getting the job done. If so, and if you have an incubator, warm it up. Otherwise you'll be waiting until one of your hens goes broody to hatch some out.