How/what to feed baby chicks hatched by broody hen?

[lazy gardener]

Your best bet is to do a google search on "Amprolium". For anyone to say that it is not a medicine is quite a stretch of the imagination. It is a Thiamine blocker. Thiamine is a vitamin. The cocci need thiamine to replicate. There are some pretty strong feelings on both sides of the fence regarding use of Amprolium. That's a choice you'll have to make on your own, hopefully after doing some homework.

 

[Theegoliath]

Momma will make a big mess digging food out of a hanging feeder to let her babies eat. I just have feed on the ground for them until the babies can reach the feeder.

She has been doing that this past two days. I also took the hanging feeders and set them on the ground. I put marbles in the water feeder as well so the chicks dont fall in and drown. Our other seven hens dont seem to mind the marbles either. So all is well in our coop. 7 roosting hens, and 1 broody with six babies under her.

She has 3 buff laced polish, one olive egger, one gold copper marans, and one lavender orpington under her. Its an awesome experiance to let a broody hatch and be a momma. Watching her protect them, teach them, and help with food. One has to smile when watching it all. My wife and I are so glad we got the fertile eggs!

 

[wherry]

Thanks for this thread. I have a broody and bought some fertilized eggs. We are on day 10/11 and I was wondering about the feeding as well and this really helped for planning purposes.

 

[sammylenhart]

So my broody hen just hatched her first . I'm worried about her killing the baby . I'm 15 and never let them hatch any before . Any tips or advice ??

 

[Theegoliath]

When we hatched with a broody, lots of people had all different experiances. From horror stories, to easy peasy. Our experiance was awesome, easy, and a thrill to watch the mama teach the babies about life.

We put crumble in the food container for a month. Mama showed the babies where the food was (we made sure the chicks could reach the food), and the rest is history. Our mama showed the chicks where everything they need was. She would protect them, and also keep them warm. We really didnt do anything different.

Only twice did we have to interveen and help the chicks. Both times they fell down from the nesting box in the first week. And I put wood as a makeshift ladder so they could hop up back into the nesting box where mama sat.

We loved hatching with our mama. Just keep an eye on her, and what she is doing with them. If she shows signs of care, things will be great. If she shows signs of harm, then be careful, and get a heat lamp, and remove them from her.

We must have asked about 6 different friends who have done it, and all but one had great experiances with hatching with a broody : )

Hope this helps, and isnt to late.

 

[chrissiemids]

So, have I got this right, when chicks hatch they all go on chi k crumbs including mom. How longbefor they go into growers feed?

 

[lazy gardener]

You can keep them on starter (if it's not medicated) until they reach laying age. I prefer to do that b/c grower is much lower in protein. I just checked one of my local suppliers, and they no longer offer a grower. Their feeds are listed as "starter/grower". An other option for you might be Multi-flock starter/grower. It's a bit higher in protein. Many folks use ONLY that for their entire flocks, and supplement the layers with oyster shell. It is a bit more pricey, but you get what you pay for. It makes sense to use this for the extra protein if you're offering treats that may be lower in protein.

 

[chrissiemids]

Thanks for the info,so on chick crumbs for around a month as be already bought it. Then I will look into getting started/grower. Chicks should start hatching in 2 days,cant wait to see what happens, as I bought these eggs on-line.

 

[JaeG]

I use non medicated as my broody hens like to get back to laying pretty quick (like 6 weeks after hatching!) and I hate to waste eggs. As long as your chicks are kept dry you shouldn't have any problems with cocci, which loves damp conditions. Mine are all brooded indoors with their bantam mums as then I can keep them super dry and clean. Good luck to everyone hatching their chicks!