Let mama hen raise the chick, with the flock?

[rahmis4ri1]

Hello all, I'm just starting to take the backyard chicken business seriously, and would love to know your opinions.

The next time our hens lay eggs, sometime in mid Jan, we plan to hatch them. We live in the tropics, so weather is not a problem here.

The question is:
1. Can I let the mama hen do all the work? hatching and raising the chicks?
2. I'm planning to re-do the coop setup, so when the baby chicks hatched, we'd have a larger coop, with nest boxes, roosts, a small cage area as a brooder, and a chicken run. My plan is to have the chicks be at the brooder with the mama hen, the rest of the chickens will roost as usual, and in the morning, I'll let out the other chickens to completely free range, and lock the coop and chicken run for the chicks to grow up. Does this sound like a good plan? In the evening, I'll have the mama chicks and the chicks go back into the brooder (which is inside the main coop), and then invite the rest of the flock in. Or should I try to setup the brooder in an area further away from the main coop? Outside in the chicken run area?

Thanks!

 

[Sagey_7878]

Hello all, I'm just starting to take the backyard chicken business seriously, and would love to know your opinions.

The next time our hens lay eggs, sometime in mid Jan, we plan to hatch them. We live in the tropics, so weather is not a problem here.

The question is:
1. Can I let the mama hen do all the work? hatching and raising the chicks?
2. I'm planning to re-do the coop setup, so when the baby chicks hatched, we'd have a larger coop, with nest boxes, roosts, a small cage area as a brooder, and a chicken run. My plan is to have the chicks be at the brooder with the mama hen, the rest of the chickens will roost as usual, and in the morning, I'll let out the other chickens to completely free range, and lock the coop and chicken run for the chicks to grow up. Does this sound like a good plan? In the evening, I'll have the mama chicks and the chicks go back into the brooder (which is inside the main coop), and then invite the rest of the flock in. Or should I try to setup the brooder in an area further away from the main coop? Outside in the chicken run area?

Thanks!

Hi, Sage here from Australia. Yep, mama hen does all the raising, she will keep them warm, teach them about eating and drinking, how to dustbath, keep them safe, and how to be a good chicken! That sounds like a great plan you have, when the chicks are about 5-7 weeks old they’ll start needing more room, and most likely (however some hens are different) mother hen should have abandoned the chicks by then, which is shown when she lays an egg or begins pecking at her chicks. I prefer to raise mine not within the main flock as my hens are not that friendly to chicks and I believe it is the safest option and is easier to control the different feed. You can have a separate smaller area for the chicks as you said and they can stay in the brooder, and when they get bigger move them to a larger area. I prefer to have mine away from the flock, so I’ll recommend to you not to have the chicks and mother hen with the main flock. If you have any other questions (I’m sure you have heaps) feel free to ask! Have hatched chicks many times. Welcome to BYC as well!