My first broody hatch...when to put in water and feed?

[ChicknCharm]

Hello All!
My two silkies are hatching australorp chicks. One silkie (just 8 months) has hatched 100% her 7 eggs, the other silkie has 3 of 8 out and peeping. My question is: when should I give them water and feed? Our feed store only has the Purina Chick Start stuff....none of the green gooey stuff. Is this OK?
All chicks are fluffy and active so far. The first seven hatched just over 24 hours ago. Three hatched just this morning under our other silkie.

Thanks for the input! I did look at other strings, but could not find exactly this concerning broody hen moms in the picture, too. We took them out of the coop, so I need to get them food and water...just not sure when

We have our broodies in the house in seperate cages with their nest boxes inside. We want to see it all!

 

[Gonzo]

I'd put it in there, and let them decide.. I do know they don't need anything the first 3 days...

 

[Kaela23]

More on this topic would be helpful. One of my hens has become broody and I am going to leave her sitting on the eggs. I have always gotten chicks from an incubator so what happens when the hen hatches the chicks "natural"? Do I have to separate the chicks and hen from everyone else? The food, fresh water I think I can handle from raising the other chicks. Does the hen need to stay with the chicks? At what age can the hen and chicks go in the barnyard with all the other chickens? Too many questions.....Thanks

 

[kezabel]

I'd put the food and water in now too. I've had 2 broodys hatch chicks lately and they were eating at 2 days old and it also helps Mumma hen too she doesn't have to go far for food and water. I actually hand feed my broodys once a day some tomato or scraps and they were so hungry they gobbled it all up fast.

 

[gckiddhouse]

Broodies are the best!! We soooo loved hatching with our broody.

I don't have a lot of experience, here, but we did separate our broody and she had food (starter crumbles) and water during her sit, so when she was ready, she got up and led the chicks to water and food. If you don't separate, then she will do the same. Our broody was at the bottom of the pecking order so it was best for her to be separated. If your chicken is at the top of the pecking order and she can handle the curious hens around her, then you could leave her with the flock as long as her nesting box isn't up high so that the chicks fall out. Also, if you have a rooster, he will protect the chicks - very cool to see!

Basically, provide food and water and watch nature at work. Separate if you feel it is necessary.

 

[cook_kaka_ook]

I'll be following this thread since I'm a first time broody hen owner as well.

 

[zade11]

Class A noob here. If someone could lease explain this term broody i would very much appreciate it

 

[Kelly G]

A broody is a hen that has decided to sit on a clutch of eggs. When a hen becomes broody, she will begin sitting with great conviction and she will be in an almost trance-like state. During this time, they get off the nest infrequently (but pretty regularly) to poo and drink/eat. This state usually lasts about 3-4 weeks.

Broody hens are the ones that successfully hatch eggs.

Some breeds of chickens almost never go broody, and some are known for their exceptional inclination to be broody (Silkies are a good example).

There are others who may be able to exlain better than me, but I hope this helps...

 

[ChicknCharm]

Hello All!
As of now, we have 14 peeping australorps under two broody silkies. Here's what I did:

1.)When the fertile eggs came in (we are a town-farm, so we ony have hens...lots of them), I sat them in a carton fat end up for 12 hours or longer.
2.)In that time, I got a dog carrier and a very large wire animal cage. I made two nests for each inside a cardboard box and a plastic nesting box that fit in each broody cage.
3.)I put the broodys in their new broody cages INSIDE the coop. I closed the door overnight.
4.)I watched that morning when they left their nests to see if they had a mega-poop and a frantic run for food and water, and a quick return to the broody nest (about 30 minutes)
5.) Then I put the eggs in their nest and put them in the broody cage and closed the door so the other hens would not try to get that nest. FYI: The nest that a hen will not leave is the nest the other hens all want....it must be really good to induce broody behavior.
6.) Each morning I let the hen out and watched, put them back in when they came clucking back frantic-like. They actually let you know their break is over. One time, we missed putting in our first broody and she was out almost 3 hours. I was devestated, posted here, but guess what...she still hatched 100% of her eggs. Amazing.
7.) On day 18 or 19...basically lock-down for the incubator, I moved the broody cages inside. They are clean since the broodys will not poop in their nests and only poop once a day. This I did so my girls could be more a part of it. Also, it was too cold to be popping in every few hours to check on the mamas.
8.) Mine would not get off their nests at this point to eat or poop or drink. We brought them water, cottage cheese, cheese sticks. Right at 21 days, each starting hatching.
9.) Ours are still inside with the chicks in their broody cages. They have a little room to run around and I took the nests out of the boxes and set them on clean shavings, so the chicks can get on and off.
10.) They are already eating and drinking and following Mom about.
11.) AMAZINGLY cute stuff.

We also have an incubator going with 7 eggs, one egg pipped and we put it under Mama to hatch. It did great. Another pipped, and we did the same. It never made it out and that was very sad (I am learning what to do if this happens again). The five other eggs are still in the LG bator and have not even pipped. I liked the broody experience (so far) much better than the incubator.

GOOD LUCK ALL and ENJOY!

 

[ChicknCharm]

OH!
And yes, I did put food in on day 2 and water, all chicks are happily pecking and experimenting. It is really fun to watch the mama hen talk to the little ones, pick up a piece of food and show it to them. The chicks do exactly as she shows. Mama hen is cluck-clucking, chortling almost, telling them what to do. SOOOOOO wonderful to watch. Like a Nature show on PBS.