New chicks

[Monkeykid220]

My chicken has just hatched some babies and this will be my first time with baby chickens is there any thing I need to do specifically or will the momma take care of her/him

 

[sourland]

Congratulations. Provide protection, proper feed and water, and she will do the rest.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Lots of different ways to approach this. In general there is no one best way but how much room you have, what your coop and run looks like, and some other conditions might influence that. The more you tell us about your situation the more specific we can get with you.

I have a large ground level walk-in coop with lots of room outside. I have weather so the outside room is pretty much available all day every day. I provide food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it when she brings them off the nest. When she brings them off the nest I clean the nest, dumping everything on my compost pile and and new bedding. That's all I do. She does the rest.

My nests are high enough that the chicks can;t get back in them. The broody hen takes them to sleep somewhere on the coop floor. Typically she keeps them in the coop only for couple of days but then takes them outside. After that she takes them out every morning and keeps them out all day. When it starts to get dark she brings them back inside to sleep somewhere on the coop floor. I have food and water they can get to outside as well as in the coop. There is a grassy area where she tends to keep them most of the day. I have a rooster, mature hens, and usually other juveniles in the flock.

Your circumstances are probably different so you may get different results. If you have an elevated coop she may have trouble getting them back inside. If your space inside or out is really small she may have some problems raising them. There may be something about your set-up that makes it more challenging. But it's pretty much as Sour said, provide protection, proper feed and water, and she will do the rest.

 

[Monkeykid220]

Lots of different ways to approach this. In general there is no one best way but how much room you have, what your coop and run looks like, and some other conditions might influence that. The more you tell us about your situation the more specific we can get with you.

I have a large ground level walk-in coop with lots of room outside. I have weather so the outside room is pretty much available all day every day. I provide food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it when she brings them off the nest. When she brings them off the nest I clean the nest, dumping everything on my compost pile and and new bedding. That's all I do. She does the rest.

My nests are high enough that the chicks can;t get back in them. The broody hen takes them to sleep somewhere on the coop floor. Typically she keeps them in the coop only for couple of days but then takes them outside. After that she takes them out every morning and keeps them out all day. When it starts to get dark she brings them back inside to sleep somewhere on the coop floor. I have food and water they can get to outside as well as in the coop. There is a grassy area where she tends to keep them most of the day. I have a rooster, mature hens, and usually other juveniles in the flock.

Your circumstances are probably different so you may get different results. If you have an elevated coop she may have trouble getting them back inside. If your space inside or out is really small she may have some problems raising them. There may be something about your set-up that makes it more challenging. But it's pretty much as Sour said, provide protection, proper feed and water, and she will do the rest.

I don’t have a run I let them free rang but I have a 16x8 coop and how do I keep the other chickens from eating the baby’s food and what kind of food do they need a heat light or will the momma keep them warm

 

[Monkeykid220]

I don’t have a run I let them free rang but I have a 16x8 coop and how do I keep the other chickens from eating the baby’s food and what kind of food do they need a heat light or will the momma keep them warm

Lots of different ways to approach this. In general there is no one best way but how much room you have, what your coop and run looks like, and some other conditions might influence that. The more you tell us about your situation the more specific we can get with you.

I have a large ground level walk-in coop with lots of room outside. I have weather so the outside room is pretty much available all day every day. I provide food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it when she brings them off the nest. When she brings them off the nest I clean the nest, dumping everything on my compost pile and and new bedding. That's all I do. She does the rest.

My nests are high enough that the chicks can;t get back in them. The broody hen takes them to sleep somewhere on the coop floor. Typically she keeps them in the coop only for couple of days but then takes them outside. After that she takes them out every morning and keeps them out all day. When it starts to get dark she brings them back inside to sleep somewhere on the coop floor. I have food and water they can get to outside as well as in the coop. There is a grassy area where she tends to keep them most of the day. I have a rooster, mature hens, and usually other juveniles in the flock.

Your circumstances are probably different so you may get different results. If you have an elevated coop she may have trouble getting them back inside. If your space inside or out is really small she may have some problems raising them. There may be something about your set-up that makes it more challenging. But it's pretty much as Sour said, provide protection, proper feed and water, and she will do the rest.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t have a run I let them free rang but I have a 16x8 coop

Good, lots of room and easy access in and out.

how do I keep the other chickens from eating the baby’s food and what kind of food

You cannot stop the baby chicks from eating the adult food. The hen will move food down to where the chicks can get it. By two weeks my baby chicks are flying up to eat out of the adults feeders while the broody hen protects them. That's why my chicks and adults all eat the same thing, either Starer or Grower. I offer oyster shell on the side so the hens that need the extra calcium for their egg shells can eat all they want. The ones that don't need it don't eat enough to harm themselves.

Excess calcium is bad for growing chicks but the hens need it for laying eggs. Other than the amount of calcium there is no significant difference between Layer and other feeds, though protein content can vary. Your hens will do fine on Starter or Grower, with oyster shell on the side. Since yours free range they probably get a lot of their food from foraging. I'd expect your broody to keep her chicks out foraging for most of their food too. You are in a different situation from someone who keeps their chickens in small pens and provides everything they eat.

My adults consider anything I put out for the chicks to be a special treat, even if it is exactly what goes into their feeders. That can make it hard for the chicks to have their own food supply. I built this creep feeder to handle that. I put the chick feeder under this. The chicks can get in there, the adults cannot. Lots of ways to build a creep feeder, I threw this together out of scraps I had laying around.

do they need a heat light or will the momma keep them warm

Momma will keep them warm. A heat lamp is likely to just confuse her.

 

[Monkeykid220]

I don’t have a run I let them free rang but I have a 16x8 coop

Good, lots of room and easy access in and out.

how do I keep the other chickens from eating the baby’s food and what kind of food

You cannot stop the baby chicks from eating the adult food. The hen will move food down to where the chicks can get it. By two weeks my baby chicks are flying up to eat out of the adults feeders while the broody hen protects them. That's why my chicks and adults all eat the same thing, either Starer or Grower. I offer oyster shell on the side so the hens that need the extra calcium for their egg shells can eat all they want. The ones that don't need it don't eat enough to harm themselves.

Excess calcium is bad for growing chicks but the hens need it for laying eggs. Other than the amount of calcium there is no significant difference between Layer and other feeds, though protein content can vary. Your hens will do fine on Starter or Grower, with oyster shell on the side. Since yours free range they probably get a lot of their food from foraging. I'd expect your broody to keep her chicks out foraging for most of their food too. You are in a different situation from someone who keeps their chickens in small pens and provides everything they eat.

My adults consider anything I put out for the chicks to be a special treat, even if it is exactly what goes into their feeders. That can make it hard for the chicks to have their own food supply. I built this creep feeder to handle that. I put the chick feeder under this. The chicks can get in there, the adults cannot. Lots of ways to build a creep feeder, I threw this together out of scraps I had laying around.

View attachment 2308460

do they need a heat light or will the momma keep them warm

Momma will keep them warm. A heat lamp is likely to just confuse her.

Thank you for all the help they came at a bad time too but I am still excited there here haha were in the process of about to move to new property and house just got 5 acres and new double wide