Is it fine for hens to hatch eggs in October???

[Blooie]

I can't make your decision on whether or not to allow a broody to raise chicks in October, although with your general climate I don't know that it would be a huge problem - IF she takes care of them. Sometimes a first time broody will not do such a good job once the eggs hatch and the chicks are peeping all around and under her. Most of the time it goes perfectly, but if you decide to let her hatch eggs please have a plan in place for in case you have to raise them yourself. If I've learned anything it's that the only time a problem is going to pop up is if I have no backup plan. <sigh>

That said, roosters get a bad rap a lot of the time. Ask 10 people about leaving the roo with the family and you'll get 10 different answers! But sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. This is Scout checking out the brooder pen and the chicks.




And this is Scout watching over the girls and the 5 week old chicks outside. A roo with chicks doesn't have to mean a problem. I made sure that all of the adult chickens could see the chicks every day by keeping them in a pen within the run. You could set up something similar for your broody hen.

Good luck!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

It’s harder to raise chicks in bitter cold than in warmer times. What would only be an inconvenience in the heat of summer could become a tragedy in bitter cold. North Carolina is not bad and within five weeks of hatch the weather won’t pose a problem anyway. Especially raised outside by a broody they will have feather out nicely and be able to handle the cold.

A broody certainly can hatch in North Carolina in October and I’d expect a pretty successful result but your risk of problems are a little higher than they would be in summer. If I had a hen go broody she’d get eggs to hatch and I'm probably a little colder than you.

Yes and no - some of the common threats to chicks as far as pathogens in the environment, etc are actually lower in the cold times vs. the hot/wet summer months - so while there are issues associated with increased risk in the winter there are also benefits to brooding in the "off-season"

You hear so many bad things about roosters being dangerous to the flock on here and practically all of it is just crap. Chicks have been raised by broody hens with the flock since there were chickens. If they are exposed to the chicks at an early age practically any dominant rooster will think they are his offspring even if they are a totally different color and look nothing like him. Some dominant roosters help Mama take care of the babies, some don’t, but most dominant roosters will protect their entire flock, babies and all. I’ve never seen a dominant rooster even threaten a chick, let alone do harm.

Non-dominant roosters can be a bit less helpful but if they are mature they are not likely to threaten the chicks. Cockerels, males that are not yet mature, can be more of a risk but Mama usually has no problem teaching them to leave her babies alone.

I think a lot of people confuse an immature adolescent cockerel with a mature flock master. There is no comparison, they are totally different things in behavior. Even with a lot of cockerels being raised with the flock I’ve never had a problem with them harming the chicks. Mama takes care of that.

You do not need to separate the rooster. You need to leave the rooster with the flock so he can take care of all his flock.

X2! I have always hatched/raised in the flock when I've had broody hatches -- have not once had an issue with aggression from any flock members, especially the roosters. I think part of the over-reporting of "aggression" towards the chicks is the misunderstanding of flock dynamics and the knee-jerk "they are being mean and scary" reaction of some to the totally natural, and non-life threatening, discipline that flock members might offer up to an errant chick whom is stepping out of bounds of their place in the flock. A good broody is more than capable of protecting her chicks, and is also more than willing to let the other flock members give out needed discipline -- if your broody isn't bothered by the other bird giving her chick a peck and sending him/her crying back to mama, neither should the flock keeper be.....some just have a harder time not running in to "save" the little brat of a chick who caused the whole thing to begin with.