Please let me know what I should alter or not do with this plan. A broody hen is hatching eggs today. 4 have hatched 3 to go. I plan to leave them with her. So I am going to move them all ( they are in a nest box about 18 inches off the ground ) to a fenced in 4 by 4 ft corner of the large 15 by 15 ft coop , mother and chicks tomorrow unless all 7 hatch today. I put newspaper down cause that is what i did when i got my 25 day old chicks and water and the chick grit. I was going to leave the hen with the chicks to keep them warm and not do any other supplemental heat. Not put a perch in there as I dont want the mama to sit on a perch ( not sure if she would any way . Then after a few days put pine mulch in there.Thenhe other chickens will roost in the same coop but can not get to them and I put a plywood roof over the fenced in corner so no poop will drop into that corner if hens roost over that section. Is this OK? After 2-3 weeks let them in the grass ( fenced in portion with the mama ) how long will the mama hen want to be with them and how long do i isolate her with them like this? When would I expect the hen to start laying eggs again. ?
Sounds like a good plan. The hen may scratch and tear up the newspaper, but give it a try. How many hens are in your flock. The more hens, the longer I would isolate the broody and chicks from the flock Wait at least until the chicks are fully mobile and more able to get out of harms way. (Perhaps a couple of weeks old.) The period of time a hen will brood her chicks and the interval until egg laying resumes varies from breed to breed and from individual to individual within breeds. Hard to give an accurate definitive answer.
