I let my broodies take care of their own chicks regardless of time of year...its is SOOOO much easier & the chick seem so much happier. Of course mine free range. In the warm months they are out of the coop after a few days and roaming around learning to forage with mama, as time goes by she takes them further and further from the coop. Of course I have to help them back into the coop/raised nest box for the first few days to a week until they figure it out themselves. If the mamas would just walk up the ramp vs. fly to the top the chicks might just catch on sooner...but they all gather at the bottom of the ramp and look up in awe at what their mom just did with her wings!
BTW one of my best broodies started hatching out very young, around 24 weeks like yours. She has continued to set with some frequency and is an excellent mama once the chicks are hatched. She also has some of the longest staying power with the little ones. I have some hens stop mothering after 3-5 weeks (and one after 2, she just didn't get into it and has not been broody since) but she has been known to keep tabs on her kids up to 10 weeks!
BTW one of my best broodies started hatching out very young, around 24 weeks like yours. She has continued to set with some frequency and is an excellent mama once the chicks are hatched. She also has some of the longest staying power with the little ones. I have some hens stop mothering after 3-5 weeks (and one after 2, she just didn't get into it and has not been broody since) but she has been known to keep tabs on her kids up to 10 weeks!
