Moving a setting hen?

[dpuleo]

Hi there, I am new to chickens and just hatched two chicks yesterday. Ethel went broody in the only nesting box I have ( I only have 2 barred rocks) she was able to hatch two of the 4 eggs from a friend that has a rooster. She is a good mom and I think she will protect the chicks from Lucy,which is the top hen. Should I move mama and chicks? The coop is up about 3 feet. Will the chicks be able to go up and down the ramp? Do I buy medicated chick food? Do I need to show the chicks the water and food or will mama hen do it all?

 

[FoxyLoxy19]

If it was me I would be watching the hens over the next couple of day to see whether they are attacking the chickens, At the moment i would not move them unless the other hens are showing aggression towards her or the chickens.
With the ramp i wouldn't know as i don't own a pen with the a ramp
Previously i have bought medicated food and left a container in pen with some in it. Obviously the other hens eat it as well...but if the hens are eating it the chickens will learn and eat it as well.
I have always known the hens to show the chickens how to eat and drink you will not need to teach them.
See what other peoples opinions are.....as mine may be not completely the right thing to do?....

 

[Cass]

Hi there, I am new to chickens and just hatched two chicks yesterday. Ethel went broody in the only nesting box I have ( I only have 2 barred rocks) she was able to hatch two of the 4 eggs from a friend that has a rooster. She is a good mom and I think she will protect the chicks from Lucy,which is the top hen. Should I move mama and chicks? The coop is up about 3 feet. Will the chicks be able to go up and down the ramp? Do I buy medicated chick food? Do I need to show the chicks the water and food or will mama hen do it all?

The Momma will do it all. No, you do not have to get medicated feed. I never do, unless I see blood in the poop. (And that only happened once in my life and came from chicks bought from a breeder, not my own hatchlings) Medicated feed is for treating and/or preventing Cocci. You don't have to use it (and shouldn't ) If you don't have this infection active in your flock. You really want your chicks to build up a natural immunity to it as people claim the germs for it is in ALL soil.

The ramp? Well, that depends on the strength of the chicks and the angle of the ramp. You might have to pick them up and put them half way up the ramp the first few days but before they are a whole week old they will be running up and down that ramp with the energy only youth can show.

You don't have to move the hen and her chicks. I would suggest that you don't move them unless they are in danger from the other hen. Why do I say that? Because as popular as this thread is, the threads regarding integration of new birds into a flock are much longer and more popular....why is that? Because integration of new birds (which the chicks would become if you take them away from the second hen's territory) is about as hard as it gets when you are talking chicken with people. It causes the most stress on the birds and YOU, watching the pecking order become reestablished with the new birds in the coop. (And sometimes the youngest/smallest bird winds up dead) So if the chicks are not in danger of being killed instantly, leave the entire group together. You won't regret it when they are all one happy flock and you have not had to babysit the whole reintegration process. (And is sounds like you don't have a lot of space to keep the "new birds" separate as the "old birds" get to see and get used to them)

 

[AVintageLife]

Just wanted to add, look for an egg tooth on the TSC chicks. If they dont have a egg tooth i wouldn't try it. The lighter the color and bigger the tooth looks the younger the chick is. The tooth dosent shrink the chicks just get bigger in a few days.

Oh, this egg tooth advice is great, something I had not read on BYC before. Hopefully next week we'll have some hatchlings and I'll be able to see exactly what it looks like on a new chick. I hope to never have to buy from TSC and the like, just hatch out what I need. I am pleasantly surprised to have an EE go broody this summer, and now one of my BR's is showing signs of going broody (hopefully not). I only have five hens, a year old this month. Wasn't expecting broody to happen at all. Back on topic, I will have to move my EE after the chicks hatch, to a nesting area down on the floor. She's in a wine box and the sides are too high for her to lead the chicks out to eat/drink - a plot flaw on my part. I'm assuming once I know the hatch is done (and I will have the new nest site ready in advance of that), I can move them?

 

[dpuleo]

I checked on them and they are doing great. The other hen is free ranging and is not paying any attention to the babies in the coop for now. We will see what happens when she goes to lay her egg.

 

[lindsay297]

I could not agree more with the advice given here.....the great part is everyones situation is different.

Personally.....when I notice that my girls are broody I break out the plastic easter eggs. I have 2 large rabbit cages and move them, the nest and the plastic eggs into that. I have never had a broody not want 12 eggs in a nest. I leave them in the rabbit cage in the coop, on the floor. Then I switch out the eggs for fertile ones. This allows momma and babes shelter and safety as well as some privacy. Also keeps her in the loop and the chicks are settled in as part of the flock right off. After the 3 days when she is restless with the chicks I open the door. I always put clean bedding in and food and water. I have had some return with their chicks and take up that space and some have found another spot. But after that the doors are left open and I have always had good luck with a protective momma.

This is what works for me. I have found it very easy to do and in repeated use has not failed yet! I always watch for the first day to make sure there are no issues and then I let momma do her thing!!

 

[BinaryChicken]

I moved two hens that were setting about 2 months ago, when I first put them in they were a little unsure and didn't sit on them immediately but I just encouraged them and pretty quickly they sat on them again. You would have better luck moving them in the late evening when they are tired.

 

[trickys10]

i personnally havent had an issue moving any of my broody hens and i do it in the middle of the day i just pick the hen up set the eggs in a box carry them to the new place put the eggs in the new box and set the hen back down on top of them and she puffs up and start rearranging the eggs and sets right back on them i ve done this a few times with different hens because i will have 2 or 3 hens trying to cram in a nest box to set on eggs so i divide them up so they can all sit

 

[dpuleo]

New question: I let my chickens free range during the day and they sleep in a coop at night. Should I keep the baby chicks and the mama in the pen for a few weeks or let mama show them around from day one. They have a lot of places to hide from hawks.

 

[johnschiks]

how big of a space do you have to provide for a broody? would an old large dog crate work?