Letting a broody hatch and raise chicks with the flock - What do I need to know?

[mrsmistoffelees02]

Hey everyone,
Well, I caved and let my favorite hen incubate after she got broody. (Not the one previously posted about, this is another hen). She and her sister have been taking turns sitting, and after checking, several eggs have veins! So exciting!

However…
The nesting boxes are about a foot off the ground. When the babies hatch, will they fall? Do I need to move the nest? What if she refuses to sit after moving the nest?

I don’t want to separate the mom and chicks because re-integrating them will be a pain. I would rather them work the dynamic out together. Will it be fine to just leave them altogether? What risks come with this?

I’ve read some posts about letting a broody hatch chicks, but it seems suspiciously simple. Any advice is appreciated. I don’t want to go into this blindly.

 

[DobieLover]

First of all, give this article a read...

When the babies hatch, will they fall?

They might.

Do I need to move the nest?

Not a good idea.

What if she refuses to sit after moving the nest?

This is why.

I don’t want to separate the mom and chicks

THAT'S a good idea!

because re-integrating them will be a pain.

This is why.

Will it be fine to just leave them altogether?

I've never had a problem letting mom do what she wants. I give her a private area that can be closed off for show time and then I open the door once the chicks are mobile and let her decide when she wants to leave. Provide food and chick safe water near the brooding area.

What risks come with this?

I've never had a problem BUT I do have copious amounts of space and a pretty harmonious flock.

I’ve read some posts about letting a broody hatch chicks, but it seems suspiciously simple.

It is with copious amounts of space and level headed broodies.

I even have a "never been broody before" hen that seems to really enjoy the chicks and will follow the mother and chicks around and has even defended the mother when a scuffle breaks out between her and another hen. I now call her Aunt Alecia.

 

[mrsmistoffelees02]

We are in the same boat right now

Hey! Just an update - I ended up figuring it out as I went along, the babies are 5 weeks old now (I snuck two more chicks in after the first one hatched so she wouldn’t be an only child, haha) and happy and healthy!

If you have any questions, let me know and I’ll see if I can help. I didn’t have things 100% figured out when the baby hatched, but it all worked out - watching mama hen raise them has been the most incredible experience, it’s soooo much easier than brooding them yourself.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi Ceecee23, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.

Do i need to separate mama and babies though?

You'll get different answers from different people. Some of us never do, some always do. We have different set-ups with immense difference in space, different management techniques, and different flock mixes. Each chicken has its own individual personality. Just because something works for me does not mean it will work for everyone else every time.

The more room they have the better, both inside the coop and outside. Mama needs enough room to work. Most broody hens will defend their chicks from other chickens. Almost always this is another hen, but might possibly be a rooster. My roosters either help Mama take care of the flock or ignore them but others on here have reported a rooster attacked baby chicks. After initial curiosity most of my hens ignore baby chicks unless the chicks invade their personal space. Then the chicks are likely to get pecked to show them that it is bad chick manners to invade the personal space of their betters. Occasionally a hen will try to injure a chick but my broody hens take care of that.

A story I've seen play out a few times, usually when the chicks are about 2 weeks old. A chick leave Mama's protection and go to eat at a common feeder next to the other hens. The hens may ignore the chick at first but it is usually not long before one pecks it to punish it for bad manners. The chick immediately runs back to Mama as fast as her little legs can carry her with those little wings flapping. Mama tends to ignore this, it takes a village to raise a child. But on the occasions a hen starts following that running chick Mama whips butt. Nobody threatens her babies. Not all broody hens protect their chicks like this but mine do. Each chicken and each set-up is different.

My broody hens tend to keep the chicks separate from the flock most of the time. If space is tight she can't do that so the chicks are much more likely to get pecked or attacked by another hen. That's part of why space is so important.

My hens hatch in nests 2' or 4' above the coop floor. I've seen a hen get chicks out of a 10 feet (3 m) high hay loft where they hatched. She said jump and they did, then bounced up and ran to her. My hens don't have a problem getting their chicks out of the nests but they don't go back to those nests. At night they have the chicks sleep on the coop floor until they are ready to roost. Again, it helps to have enough room that they can do this. If you have a nest or shelter on the floor the broody might or might not take them there.

My pop door is about a foot above the coop floor and the outside. The chicks cannot jump that high to get in or out so I build a set of stairs inside and outside with of paving stones I had laying around. The broody typically keeps the chicks in the coop for two or three days and then leads them outside in the morning and keeps them outside all day until bedtime, when she takes them to sleep on the coop floor.

I don't always do it like this. When my coop is getting crowded I wait until the hen brings her chicks off of the nest and then lock them in a shelter out in the run for two nights and three days. Then I let the hen and chicks free to roam in the run with the other chickens during the day. At night the hen takes them back to the shelter to sleep instead of sleeping inside the coop. I can lock that shelter for predator protection. By being raised with the flock the chicks can take care of themselves with the flock. They simply avoid the adults, but I have enough room they can do that.

Few people on here have the room I do. They cannot let a broody raise the chicks in the coop with the rest of the flock. Their situation is different from mine so it takes different solutions. That may involve leaving them separate so long that the human has to integrate the chicks when they are old enough instead of letting the broody do it.

I know I'm repeating a lot of what I already wrote in this old thread. It is an old thread and many people don't bother reading old posts, especially long ones. There is nothing wrong with reopening an old post but often you get more attention and better responses by opening your own thread. Just something to keep in mind for future questions.

Again, I'm glad you joined.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The nesting boxes are about a foot off the ground.

I've seen a broody hen get chicks out of a ten feet high hayloft. She flew to the ground and called to them. They jumped, bounced up, and ran to her. My broody hens regularly hatch in nests 2 to 4 feet above the coop floor. The chicks do not get hurt when the broody hen brings them out of the nest.

When the babies hatch, will they fall?

With living animals you can't get guarantees, about anything can happen. I've only had chicks fall to the floor once. I let a broody hen hatch in a nest made from a cat litter bucket four feet above the coop floor with a top measurement of 7-1/2" x 11-1/2". That top was too small. Sometimes the chicks that hatch first climb up on Mama's back while they are waiting for others to hatch. The hen was so close to the edge on the 7-1/2" width that the chick missed the nest when it fell off. Four different times I picked a chick up off of the coop floor to put it back in the nest with Mama, probably the same chick. It fell four feet each time and was not hurt. I retired that nest after that hatch.

Your nests look plenty big enough that the chick will not fall out of the nest if it falls off of her back. Thanks for including the photo. While anything is possible I would not worry one bit about a chick falling out of your nest.

Do I need to move the nest? What if she refuses to sit after moving the nest?

There are techniques to greatly improve your chances of the hen accepting the move, but some don't. They imprint on the nest location, not the eggs. If you decide to move her let us know and we can go through that but I usually don't.

I don’t want to separate the mom and chicks because re-integrating them will be a pain. I would rather them work the dynamic out together. Will it be fine to just leave them altogether?

The way I hatch with a broody with the flock is to first gather all of the eggs I want her to hatch, mark them, and put them all under her at the same time so they should hatch at about the same time. Then every day after the other hens have laid I check under her and remove any that don't belong. If you remove them every day you can use these eggs. There are two reasons to remove the eggs that don't belong. You do not want a staggered hatch, which is where eggs hatch days apart. That is too stressful and the later ones often die. If the hen gets so many eggs under her she can't cover them all, some get pushed out, cool off, and die. You often get a horrible hatch rate if you let the eggs collect too much.

When the eggs hatch I let the hen decide when to bring the chicks off of the nest to look for food and water. Sometimes that's within 24 hours of the first one hatching, sometimes it can be over 72 hours. Since they absorb the yolk they can go over 72 hours without eating or drinking.

When the eggs start hatching I put food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to them when they come off of the nest. When she brings them off of the nest I clean out the nest and put fresh bedding in it so the others can lay in it.

Since my nests are higher she never takes the chicks back to any nest. She settles down on the coop floor wherever she wants to when it's time to warm the chicks or sleep through the night. Since your nest is so low she may try to take them back to it. Chicks can jump really well, they may be able to make it but maybe not. You need to be down there after they have settled for the night to see if any chicks are stranded. They may need your help.

I don't know what your coop looks like or what your outside space looks like. Those play a huge part in what happens next. My coop is 8' x 12' at ground level with a pop door about a foot off of ground level. I have over 3,000 square feet available outside where most of it is in grass. I use pavers to build steps inside and out so the chicks can get in and out of the pop door easily. If your coop or run are tiny or elevated with a ramp or ladder this complicates things. My broody hens tend to keep the chicks on the coop floor for two to three days before she takes them outside. After she once takes them outside, she takes them out every day in the morning and keeps them out all day. At night she takes them back inside to sleep on the coop floor.

I'm down there as it is getting dark anyway to lock them up for the night but you need to make sure you are. My chicks practically always are all inside but a couple of times one did not make it. You'll know because it is going to be peeping, calling for Mama. If yours is hard for the chicks to get in you may find Mama and the chicks settled down for the night outside. This happens a lot with elevated coops.

What risks come with this?

The broody hen leaves her nest to eat and drink and take a huge dump. Before a hen even starts to lay she builds up a lot of excess fat. This fat is what she mostly lives on while she is broody so she can stay on the nest and take care of the eggs. I've had a broody hen come off of the nest twice a day for over an hour each time, I've had a broody come off once a day for 15 minutes. Many broody hens I never see off of the nest but I know they are coming off because they are not pooping in the nest. Some people get really concerned when they don't see the hen off of the nest or see that the hen is losing weight. Don't be. They are using fat put there for that purpose and as long as you don't see poop in the nest when you check for strange eggs they are coming off.

One risk is that when the broody comes off of the nest she goes back to the wrong nest. Usually what happens is that another hen is on her nest laying an egg so she goes to a different nest. Most broody hens will just climb into the nest with the hen laying the egg but sometimes one gets confused. So you might find the broody in the wrong nest and the eggs feeling cold. Obviously you don't want this to happen but I've seen it a few times and still got good hatches. One specific time I had the eggs really cold, the hen had been on the wrong nest a long time, and still hatched 11 out of 11 eggs.

Most of my broody hens have no problems with another hen climbing into the nest and laying an egg with her. Occasionally you may get a broody that does object. If they fight, an egg could get broken. I don't know if I've ever had this happen or not. I had one nest where an egg was broken, the shell was fairly thin. I don't know if it became broken because the broody was protecting her nest or if it broke when she was walking on the eggs because it was thin. Hens walk on the eggs when they are getting in and off of the nest when they are laying. A broody probably does too.

One time I had a hen go broody a couple of days before another hen was due to hatch. When the chicks started peeping after internal pip but before external pip, that second broody hen fought to take over the eggs. They destroyed half the eggs, all of which had a living chick inside. So I try real hard to not have two hens broody at the same time where they can get to each other's nest.

A broody hen needs room to work when raising the chicks. After she weans them the chicks need enough room to avoid the other adults. My broody hens fight to protect their chicks. I've never had a mature rooster threaten the chicks. The other hens usually don't bother them unless the chicks invade their personal space. Even then it is usually a peck to tell them to not bother their betters. But I have plenty of room. They broody hen and the chicks after she weans them can avoid the rest. If your outdoor space is tight then they can't get that separation. If your coop is tiny they may have trouble finding a safe place to sleep at night.

I’ve read some posts about letting a broody hatch chicks, but it seems suspiciously simple. Any advice is appreciated. I don’t want to go into this blindly.

It can be extremely simple if you have sufficient room and a decent broody. It is so simple that if you free range, a hen can hide a nest and show up with a bunch of chicks later with no help from you. Hens have been doing that for thousands of years. It's when we limit their room and their options that it can get complicated. I find the more I interfere with the broody the more harm I do. Because of the way I raise them I have to interfere some but I really try to limit it.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thank you. This is very well-written and helpful. The hardest part for me with a hen hatching is when they turn mean to their chicks at 4-6 weeks. It just breaks my heart.

It's mama's way of saying, "you're big chicks now and you don't need me any more." It's nature's way. They get over it pretty quick and soon they're part of the flock.

 

[igorsMistress]

If you have a nice pile of straw on the floor under the nest boxes they won’t usually get hurt when they leave the nest box. Just be sure there’s space for a nest on the floor and plenty of bedding because they typically won’t be able to get back in if it’s off the floor. Then make sure there’s food and water available and you’ll have to check it regularly because the bigs will think the babies are getting something special and everyone will eat from that and not their own Then let mama deal with it. They’ll get pecked here and there, but usually mama protects them from everyone else and/or takes them off to do their own thing so everyone gets a break. Unless there’s blood, I don’t interfere. Mama will have them out of the coop as soon as they are capable and will start integrating them into the flock almost right away.

 

[DobieLover]

Do i need to separate mama and babies though?

No. You don't.
She needs a semiprivate space to set and hatch.

Once the eggs hatch she stays in the nest area for 1 to several days before she will venture out with them. As long as you have ample space there should be little if any drama. I would NEVER attempt natural hatching in any kind of tiny, prefab coop and wouldn't advise it in an elevated coop because of the difficulties mom will face trying to get her brood up a ramp or steps that are too high for chicks to jump up.

Broody hens protect, tend to and teach their chicks. I've never had other flock members be anything but curious about the chicks. If the mother thinks another flock member isn't going to be safe near her chicks, she will drive her off.

After the eggs hatch, remove the shells and unhatched eggs and put a chick safe waterer and chick starter in for them and Mom to eat. The entire flock should be on chick starter or Flock Raiser or another type of all flock food with oyster shell on the side for active layers.

 

[BabyChicki]

Hey everyone,
Well, I caved and let my favorite hen incubate after she got broody. (Not the one previously posted about, this is another hen). She and her sister have been taking turns sitting, and after checking, several eggs have veins! So exciting!

However…
The nesting boxes are about a foot off the ground. When the babies hatch, will they fall? Do I need to move the nest? What if she refuses to sit after moving the nest?

I don’t want to separate the mom and chicks because re-integrating them will be a pain. I would rather them work the dynamic out together. Will it be fine to just leave them altogether? What risks come with this?

I’ve read some posts about letting a broody hatch chicks, but it seems suspiciously simple. Any advice is appreciated. I don’t want to go into this blindly.

I’d hate to deprive your hen and chicks of moving around freely, and I’m not sure what type of chickens you have, but I usually put mine in a different space with the hen since roosters or other hens are likely to fight with the chicks.. since I have had problems with them. once again, I’m not sure with yours since they might be all very ok with the chicks

 

[triciayoung]

First of all, give this article a read...


They might.

Not a good idea.

This is why.

THAT'S a good idea!

This is why.

I've never had a problem letting mom do what she wants. I give her a private area that can be closed off for show time and then I open the door once the chicks are mobile and let her decide when she wants to leave. Provide food and chick safe water near the brooding area.

I've never had a problem BUT I do have copious amounts of space and a pretty harmonious flock.

It is with copious amounts of space and level headed broodies.

I even have a "never been broody before" hen that seems to really enjoy the chicks and will follow the mother and chicks around and has even defended the mother when a scuffle breaks out between her and another hen. I now call her Aunt Alecia.

Congratulations on hatching the easy way. I completely agree with @DobieLover