needing the minimalists guide to broody hen in coop?

[greytmommy]

ok, so my CM has decided to lay on a clutch of about 4 eggs. We didnt discourage her because we have lost half our flock to a red coyote in the area.

so she is sitting on these eggs in a nesting box up off the floor of the coop.

what is the bare minimum i need to do? i honestly dont want to invest too much effort at this point since i am dealing with a colicky 7week old baby.

Can I move her and her clutch to a makeshift box to put on the floor of the coop? and then get some chick starter and water for the chicks when they hatch (to hide under a box that the big chickens cant get to)? is that it?? i dont want to completely seperate them, have to reintroduce, yadda yadda yadda..

if it helps our current flock is REALLY small. 1 banty cochin roo, banty cochin hen, 1 CM, 1 Barred Rock and a OEGB. That is it. And our coop is HUGE.....could easily hold 14-24 birds. So they are not wanting for space. They also free range during the day...but that has been limited since we have this current coyote problem.

The eggs (if you are interested) are 3 banty eggs and 1 CM egg. So the potential is a CM/Cochin mix, Banty Cochin (and both of mine are blue splash) and maybe a OEGB/Cochin mix. So this could be interesting!

TIA!

 

[chicmom]

Hi Tia!

Congrats on the new baby. So sorry about the colic....I've been there.....It's rough! Try that "Gripe Water" I heard it's great!

Anyhow, If you mark down appx when the chicks will hatch, you could actually just leave her there and then move her to a nice box with the food and water on the ground after they all hatch.

That would be the easiest thing, I think.

 

[Lollipop]

I would leave her where she is until the chicks hatch, then move them all to the floor once the chicks have dried. She will leave the nest with them on their second day anyway. You will have to watch them in the evening of moving day as she will try to get them back up in the nest. Most hens will figure out that chicks can't do that, but some won't. If you can fence them off a place of their own, that will solve the feed problem. The hen can eat starter food with no problems. Don't fret over it much as the most critical day is the first evening on the floor. Have fun and hope your young'un gets to feeling better..........Pop

 

[Happy Chooks]

I would leave her where she is until the chicks hatch, then move them all to the floor once the chicks have dried. She will leave the nest with them on their second day anyway. You will have to watch them in the evening of moving day as she will try to get them back up in the nest. Most hens will figure out that chicks can't do that, but some won't. If you can fence them off a place of their own, that will solve the feed problem. The hen can eat starter food with no problems. Don't fret over it much as the most critical day is the first evening on the floor. Have fun and hope your young'un gets to feeling better..........Pop

Yup - move her and the chicks after the chicks hatch.

 

[greytmommy]

ok, thanks!

I think we have about another week or so? We check on her twice a day. (me in the morning and my husband in the evenings).

 

[centrarchid]

SInce they will be confined in close proximity to adult / older chickens, I would assume the will be ingesting more poo from elders than typical. Elders will almost certainly carry a range of parasites that have potential of overwhelming the immune systems of bitties. Under such conditions I also provide the treated feed to manage for cocciodosis. If hen and chicks can forage on less travelled ground then feed options not so much of a concern.

 

[greytmommy]

I get the start chick feed from the feed store, and it says it is medicated. so that should be good.

also, that half of the coop is hardly ever occupied by the other hens...they like the roosts on the other side. our coop is 4ft wide, 8ft long and 6ft tall.....and we only have 5 chickens! So i wasnt kidding that they h ad a lot of room! lol