I have a flock consisting of one rooster and five hens. One of my hens jsut went broody and began setting on eggs. Yeah!!! My main question and concern is about when the chicks hatch out, what will the rest of the flock do? Most of the advice that I find is about introducing incubator hatched chicks, not chicks whth a mom at their side. so my questions are these: 1) Will the rooster be a problem? 2) Will the other hens be a problem? None are broody besides her, and none have been broody in the past. The last chick they all saw was themselves when they were chicks! 3)How do I separate chick feed from adult feed? Do I need to if they have a large yard to go scavenging with mom (40 feet x 40 feet square)? 4) Then nest she is currently in is about 16 inches from the floor of the coop, and the coop door is about 10 inches from the ground (no ramp). Do I need to lower her and her eggs to a lower nest box, or will they figure a way down after they hatch out? 5) Do I need to guard them from the adult water trough? I have heard about chicks drowning themselves, but perhaps this is only with "unmothered" chicks. I know this is a lot, but I really want our first time with home raised chicks to be successful. Thank you for any help or advice you can offer.
My Japanese banty girl is sitting on a clutch of 6 eggs right now... which are due to hatch around May 2nd (give or take a day). Right now my other girls seem protective of her when I get nearby - she makes these noises that seem to get my alpha girl running to save the day. Ultimately though, once the babies hatch, I plan to move them and Momma to a quiet place and then I'll hope for the best.
I have 7 lil fluffy butts in my garden tub in spare bathroom lol, two days before they were due to hatch, i was nervous about leaving hen in coop as i have 2 roos in there, so i brought them in, Honestly it has been the neatest experience watching moma hen with her new babys, last night i put chic starter in there , she immediately marched them to the starter and started pecking away, shoving them into the food , when i go in there to check on them, i crack up laughing, she fluffs up and i see little heads pop out all around her, this weekend im gonna build them a little coop of there own , I have read hen raised chics make good momas when they grow up, shes so protective of them also...Good luck with yours Dixie
