New Babies being raised by hen and cold weather

[SimplyLogan]

Although I have raised many baby chicks, I have never let a broody hen hatch her own. I wanted to raise them in the hen house. I did separate her from the others in a brooder area in the house. So far two have hatched today and now I have the urgency to interfere with the location. the highs are supposed to be 60 and lows 30 for the next two weeks. I closed in her area more and put a lamp over it, but it shows only to be 56 deg so far. I am worried if they get out from momma they will get to cold. She is keeping them under her but they need to eat and drink soon. Should I moved them after the last egg is deemed good or bad? I can bring them by the house in another brooder that I can control the temp. much better. suggestion would be great. thanks

 

[AlienChick]

Mom will raise them with no problem. You don't have to move them or bother them at all.
I would not provide any extra heat. Mom will keep them warm enough.
And the chicks will naturally venture out from underneath mom just to cool off on their own.
Chicks do not need constant heat as you will notice when you watch the chicks scampering about.
Make sure the food/water is easily accessible for the chicks. If you allow mom to take the chicks outside, she will keep them close; but if you have a real bully hen out there, she may get close enough where she can separate a chick from mom. Baby chicks will find a place to hide when separated and they will eventually find their way back to mom when they hear her calling.

You gotta love broody hens raising their chicks! It's so cool.

I have about 15 hens that go broody, and it can be quite the circus to watch all the moms free ranging with all the baby chicks. They never get mixed up. I'm always amazed watching them.

Congrats on your new chicks!

 

[SimplyLogan]

Thanks, one came out for a short bit and stared at me for a moment. Then quickly dove back under momma. It was so sweet.

 

[zinkie]

Last Winter (Feb) a hen went broody. It was my first time hatching eggs. I debated if I should bring them in or not. After reading a bunch, I decided to just leaver her in the coop. Her nest was under a row of nest boxes, so I could section it off a bit. I added 1 clamp desk lamp pointing down. When the first one hatched, it was 5 degrees out. I named it Cinquo. 4 hatched. I never took them in, they ran around and went under mom to keep warm. The turned out fine. 1 other one hatched and did not live, not sure why.

I think mother nature knows how to do it ! Along with mother hen!

Good luck.

 

[SimplyLogan]

Wow! It does not get even close to that cold here. Glad to hear it went well (except for the poor little one), that's very encouraging to me. I really like the letting momma hatch and raise them as well. It seems to be going well. The third one hatched Saturday AM sometime. So, three good eggs, and three successful hatches. They all seem active and well, would love to see them eat. Food and water is lower and she is being protective so I have to assume she is taking care of the feeding part. So far so good and we got an unexpected warm up for a week. I'm loving that. I just need to trust in momma hen.