- Jun 21, 2008
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Between Wilma's hatching nine and 16 coming from the "bator I have 25 babies!
How many chicks can a hen reasonably handle? Omega, the last to pip but not hatch yet, is still in the incubator. I removed the other 15 chicks and gave them to Wilma. That's 24 chicks. I didn't do this at night because last time she rejected (the next morning) the two chicks I put in at night . This time I removed Wilma from the broody pen and then put the new chicks in with the old. She took care of her bodily needs then wanted back in with the chicks. I kept her away from them for 20 min. When I put her back in she called to all and tucked many under her. She seemed very confused by the sheer numbers of chicks. I spent the next two hours with her. No problems. I have checked on her every 1/2 hour and everyone is doing fine. I am not concerned about keeping the chicks warm. The temp only got down to 90 last night. I plan to put a small light in the coop just in case. I check on the birds about 1am and again about 5am. Do you think Wilma will be able to take care of all those chicks?
