How long would you keep a broody and her chicks inside the house? I am not a big fan of going this route, but may need to. We have lots of 1 year old Cochin hens and one rooster, plus we have RIRs that are 18 months or so, and a few CMs that are very near their end of laying. Cochins take a minimum of 9 months until they lay again,and I am thinking ahead. I need chicks started soon, if we are going to get a good overlap on eggs. Trouble is, I live in Alaska, and actual warm weather will not arrive until May. I have no other building to brood in. Is it possible that the chicks would be able to be slowly transitioned to the coop at 6 weeks old? I'm guessing it would be the middle of March? Will they be feathered enough? Is having the hen and chicks inside that long really bad? And how much room will they need? We have a large dog transport kennel, if it matters.
bumping this with an update. I have our large black Cochin hen, happily sitting on a huge clutch of eggs under the stairs, in a large kennel. Can anyone give me some answers to my questions above? I'm commited now, as I did not want to lose the opportunity. I will be browsing the threads more, as time gets closer to hatching. I am getting excited On top of all this, we are getting ready for a home study, in preperation to foster care/adoption.
Hey, Im in Alaska too! Where are you? If they will need their feathers to stay properly warm... If they can hide under her if they are cold it should be fine (I think that a heat lap in there would be useful, but make sure not to catch anything on fire!), but they have different food requirements. If you make them a feeding structure or cage that they can get in and out of but that the other chickens cant get in and out of, that would be okay. Also, you could have the broody and chicks in a shelter separate from the rest of the flock to keep them from eating the chick's food. They should still have the cage though, to keep the broody from eating their food.... They should not be able to access layer feed (because it will mess them up), but if these requirements are met then sure they can go outside. You could even make a brooder outside with plywood. They can stay in the brooder, just move the brooder! Im so peeved that the frost stops so late though...
Quote:I'm in Willow! Thanks for the thoughts. Right now, the brooder is inside, but by the time it needs out, we should be able to come up with a seperation solution. I really need to get two full clutches set, if not 3. That will be the challenge ) I have friends that are interested in chicks as well.
