Question 1. It' a completely personal choice of the hen if she wants to stay broody in a knew place. I had two identical Silkie hens same age, color ect. and one absolutely refused to stay on the nest if I moved her, where as the other one would sit and sit oblivious to her surroundings. Sometimes it depends on the breed of chicken as well. Some breeds are more likely to stay then others, but I think Sussex are reliable.
Question 2. I'd put no more then 5 eggs under a bantam because then you are gaurenteed a good hatch because she can easily cover them. Any more then 5 can be done but you will lower your hatch rate.
Question 3. Ahhh, here lies the big problem with broodies. I had a hen sit the nest up until day 15 ounce but then she became dissinterested and wouldn't get back on the nest. Luckily I had a spare broody that was willing to take over. All the eggs that I expected to hatch hatched so I guess there is no problem with putting another hen on them if one slacks off. Just never try to force a hen to stay on her nest, over wise she will harm the chicks when they are hatching in her rush to escape ( trust me I have learnt from experience).
Question 4. Wait until they are fully feathered before you let them free range with their mum, and make sure you know where they are at all times and don't leave them out in the rain. It's best to let them out in the middle of the day(with water avaliable of coarse) so they don't get chilled on wet grass ect.
Question 5. Wait until they are at lest half the size of the hens in your coop before you let them in. The broody hen will start to lack interest in them after 6 weeks, give or take a few weeks depending on breed and individual hen. If they are still a whole lot smaller then the hens in your coop at this time give them a seperate coop to live in untill they are big enough.
What breed are you thinking of getting? I'd love to know.
p.s. It might be a good idea to do up a chart like this one:
Day Tick day other info. To Do.
1
2
3
4
5
6 Candle
7
8
9
10
11
12 Candle
13
14
15
16
17
18 Candle
19 Stop turning
20 ...............
21 ...............
Print it out and tick the days as you go along and write any other info like how many eggs are still fertile in the other info column.
p.p.s. It is also a good idea to gently write in led pencil an X and an O on both sides of each of the eggs. This way you can tell if the hen is turning the eggs, if she doesn't (which is highly unlikely) you could end up with chicks that are stuck to the egg shell when they hatch or they don't hatch at all. Do not take the hen off the nest to see if she has turned them from the 18th day onwards because she wont turn them at this time. This is because the not turning is a sign to the chicks that its time to hatch.
