Ms. Broody hatches chicks,now what?

[kimpaw]

We discovered that one of our hens was broody and since we have no rooster she was doomed to sit on eggs that would never hatch. We went to our neighbors flock and got 6 live grenades to put under her, built her a broody house in her own pen and 21 days later she hatched 4 of 6 eggs. We have been through raising our own chicks but never had the help of a hen. The question that I have not found an answer to is, How much do we help? Do we open the door and let her out with her chicks after only a few days , for long? Do we worry about what they eat (starter is available in a feeder),Do we still worry about the chicks being warm enough and no drafts, Do we trust that she really knows whats best for her chicks, Or do we keep her in for a while and control the situation. This is different than being the only one in charge and I don't know what to trust. What do reasonable concern and caring look like in this situation? Thanks for any thoughts, Kimpaw

 

[Lollipop]

Sure she can go out with them and no, you don`t have to do anything except food and water. Hens know their stuff.........Pop

 

[ClairedeLune]

Good luck with her! And don't forget; we need pics!

 

[kimpaw]

Thanks , I will send pics when I figuire out how to post them, Kimpaw

 

[tberggren]

Thanks for posting this, it was just what I was wondering also.
Our broody has 11 eggs under her due to hatch out Wednesday.

I was worried about the water dish (should I put marbles in it?)as well as the food situation.

How do you keep starter down for babies and yet keep the rest of the flock out of it??

I also have a dust box with a mixture of Food Grade DE, wood ash and Sevin. Do I need to be concerned about babies getting into this??
It is currently in the coop in a tire, so it will be at least a week or two before they could make the jump up on the tire.

Any thoughts you have regarding these questions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[fshinggrl]

Quote:
Congrats!
On the top blue toolbar there is a spot called 'uploads.' Click that and you can put the photo from your computer on there. Then click the link, copy it and put it in your post.

Hope that helps!