just a couple of questions about my chicks! should we be giving them..

[dukeums1]

Should we be giving them antibiotics? i have heard different things on this? and if a chicken lays and egg do you have to incubate it or can you just let the hen sit on it and hatch it herself?

 

[jennh]

Quote:
You shouldn't give anitibiotics unless you have a reason to.
As to the eggs, they DO have to be fertile. Do you have a roo? If you do, just let the hen do all the *work*. It takes 21 days from start of incubation to hatch.

HTH,
Jen

edited for spelling

 

[dukeums1]

ok thank you very much and yes we do have a rooster!!
also will the rooster be mean to the babies and if we were to get more chicks do we have to keep them seperated for a period of time?

 

[jennh]

Quote:
That I'm not sure about. I just got some hatching eggs from someone on this site. I have 2 little fuzzy butt chicks, which none of my hens bother. I don't have a roo. I also have some 8 wk old fully feathered chicks which the girls that are lower on the pecking order pick on. I'm guessing he won't, 'cause the Momma hens are extremely protective!!

Jen

 

[jennh]

Quote:
That I'm not sure about. I just got some hatching eggs from someone on this site. I have 2 little fuzzy butt chicks, which none of my hens bother. I don't have a roo. I also have some 8 wk old fully feathered chicks which the girls that are lower on the pecking order pick on. I'm guessing he won't, 'cause the Momma hens are extremely protective!!

Jen

Oh, and if you get more chicks soon, I wouldn't separate them. Only if the new chicks are quite a bit bigger.

Jen

 

[dukeums1]

Thank you soooo much!! I hope you have a great weekend and enjoy your chickens!!

hopefully i can put some pictures on!!!

 

[Mervin]

Is your hen broody? They sort of have to be in the "mood" for mothering. Sometimes broodies will abandoned nests right in the middle and some are not known for their mothering (e.g. that don't tend the chicks well). Long story short, you should plan for contingencies or be prepared to deal with the loss if it doesn't work out. A lot of folks on here seem to keep an incubator around in case their broody quits on them. Also, some folks try and separate the broody from the flock to let her set in peace. Personally, I like the thought of letting the broody handle it and letting the chicks be reared with the flock. That said, I'd try and be ready for whatever could go wrong as well.

 

[dukeums1]

what does broody mean?? i have seen a lot of people use that word

 

[CityClucks]

"Broody" means basically that a hen wants to be a mother - when a hen is broody she will sit on eggs long enough to hatch them. It takes about 21 days for a fertilized chicken egg to hatch. Broodiness is something that the chicken decides - hormones. You can't force a hen to decide to be broody. Some breeds of chicken are much more likely to want to be mothers than other breeds. Even hens that aren't with a rooster can be broody and will sit on unfertilized eggs.

(edited to correct the number of days a chicken egg takes to hatch - thanks elmo for pointing out my typo!)

 

[elmo]

21 days is what I've read for standard chicken eggs. My bantams all hatched out at around 19 days.