How to have chicks with adults

[twoquinns]

We've been letting a banty hen incubate some guinea eggs and they are due to hatch today. We plan to catch up most of them to sell but thought we might let her keep a couple to see how well she would do raising them. So now it occurs to me--what do I do about food and water for the little ones? We feed the adult guineas and chickens layer pellets, but of course the babies would choke on those. We do keep the feeders and waterers elevated, but some of the pellets end up on the ground under the feeders. And if we leave a small dish of starter food out for the babies, I imagine the adults would gobble it down. We have tiny waterers from raising guineas in previous years, but I think they would be too little for the banty to use. So how does she teach them to drink/eat if she's drinking/eating from a different dish? Should we separate her and the babies from the rest of the flock as soon as they hatch and let her eat the starter food for a while, maybe use a shallow dish with rocks in it for water? Any help would be appreciated, since they are due to hatch any time now.

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

Yes, you will need to separate her and her babies so they only have access to starter feed. Momma can eat this as well. You can also use a flock raiser type feed as the Guineas will need a higher protein but momma doesn't need so much protein. Make sure to use crumbles and not pellets. If pellets are all you can get, you will need to crush them for a while. Make sure the water dish is low enough for the chicks. You can use a shallow plate for the first few days til they grow tall enough to drink for a standard waterer.

Good luck with this hatch and welcome to our flock!

 

[twoquinns]

Well, bummer. Not the answer I was hoping for! And how long do we need to keep them separated? The whole time they're on starter food? That's a long time for the banty not to get to free range.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! X2 what TwoCrows said, if you want to let your hen raise the chicks with the flock it is easiest to separate them for at least the first week or two until the chicks are doing well and are big enough to use what ever waterers you use for the flock. You will need to put the whole flock on either chicks starter or an all-ages or flock raiser type food. Just have oyster shell on the side for the laying hens, they will eat what they need and the other birds will leave it alone. That is what most people who have mixed age flocks do. There are a couple of nice articles in the Learning Center on using broody hens https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/guide-to-letting-broody-hens-hatch-and-raise-chicks

 

[twoquinns]

Thanks for the advice. How great is it that these forums exist so we can all help each other? No chicks today, but the pen is ready and waiting.

 

[sourland]

Hello

and Welcome To BYC! X2 what TwoCrows said, if you want to let your hen raise the chicks with the flock it is easiest to separate them for at least the first week or two until the chicks are doing well and are big enough to use what ever waterers you use for the flock. You will need to put the whole flock on either chicks starter or an all-ages or flock raiser type food. Just have oyster shell on the side for the laying hens, they will eat what they need and the other birds will leave it alone. That is what most people who have mixed age flocks do. There are a couple of nice articles in the Learning Center on using broody hens https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/guide-to-letting-broody-hens-hatch-and-raise-chicks

That'll work. Welcome to BYC.

 

[keith92]

when i was a kid i never fed chick starter to chicks on a hen. i would help them out of the nest and the mother hen did the rest. they pecked at cow crap and drank rain water and it seemed like everyone survived. guinea's are one of the best birds that are able to feed off of anything. they look like automatic bug eating machines when they are foraging. seperate the hen and chicks for a few days and don't concern yourself with any special feed and get them on the ground as soon as possible. they will be fine.

 

[gander007]

 

[twoquinns]

Interesting. Guess I'll have to play it by ear once they hatch, see how the hen reacts to being penned up, etc. I will probably keep them inside for a while if for no other reason than because we have so many predators, and so much dew on the grass in the morning.

 

[twoquinns]

The eggs began hatching yesterday, and as of tonight the hen is still sitting tight in the nest even though I've seen at least 7 keets out and about a little bit. There were 9 eggs in the nest, so perhaps the last 2 are a bit slow about hatching. I decided to leave her for tonight (the nest is on the ground in the guinea barn, but the guineas mostly roost outside in the run). This afternoon I did put food and water right in front of her and she was most appreciative. I saw some of the keets pecking at the food and water, too. Tomorrow if she hasn't gotten up I figure I'll try to grab her and the youngsters and put them in the little enclosure inside the barn to keep them safe for a bit and until I'm sure they're all healthy. How long do chickens usually stay on a nest after the eggs hatch? I thought she'd be up by now, so my only explanation is the possibility of unhatched eggs.