oh no.I'am not ready!

[bucky52]

i'am new to this,and did not think ahead.i had a young pullet go broody.we don't have a rooster.so my dh nephew.gave me three eggs for her.and they are due to hatch out.sept.29th.we have got to build a seperate
coop and a small run for them in order to keep them safe from the rest of the flock.dh and i don't get home from work until 6:30 in the evenings and with the days getting shorter we don't have a lot of time.he new three weeks ago i wanted to build an addition on the exsisting run.but he kept putting me off.so last night i broke the news to him.so now we are going to have to scramble to put a coop and run togather.

 

[cluck-cluck]

Tell me about it, I've been clearing the backyard of brush and begging for help, but not so dh won't help me and my chicks are getting big! I've been working my butt off but it's such slow progress, driving me nuts!

Oh well... just keep plugging away at it, you have a few weeks at least. If the chicks have hatched, the mama will protect them and care for them, shouldn't be a problem?

 

[bucky52]

it's so frustrating.

.

 

[RiddleMe]

Tell me about it, I've been clearing the backyard of brush and begging for help, but not so dh won't help me and my chicks are getting big!  I've been working my butt off but it's such slow progress, driving me nuts!

Oh well... just keep plugging away at it, you have a few weeks at least.  If the chicks have hatched, the mama will protect them and care for them, shouldn't be a problem?

Don't rely on the mama to protect them, unless you are sure she has it in her, ie she's already a dominant, pushy type bird. I had a very sweet broody BO (lost her to a coyote this year, that's another story). She was a great little mama, but, did not protect her babies from the more aggressive girls in my flock. I never really risked it, they had their own area, but the few times I let them together and the girls went after the babies, mama got upset but never stepped in. I think she was just too passive a personality, she also never got grouchy while setting on eggs.

Edited for spelling

 

[bucky52]

she has always been the dominant one.she is one of a flock of four.but since she has been setting.another pullet has become dominant over her.thanks for your advice.i should have thought this out before i let her go to setting.dh suggested i take the eggs from her and toss them.i don't have the heart to do that.she is on day 14.hoping it will all come together.

 

[RiddleMe]

If she's dominant you may be ok. You can also just put in some sort of temporary divider and shelter in your existing run. My broody/grow-out "pen" is just an area of my existing run that I section off with a piece of chicken wire and an igloo dog house that I put in there for shelter. Since it's part of my existing run and the exterior fencing is already predator proof, the chicken wire just has to do what it was designed for, keep in/out chickens. The added benefit is the chicks grow up from day one within sight of, but protected from, the existing flock, aids in integration later on. My broody hatched and raised chicks with this setup last fall/winter, with a good bed of shavings in the igloo they were plenty warm enough. For now, I just zip tie the chicken wire in place when needed, and leave one end just hooked on wire hooks, so I can go in and out. But I think I'm going to make a couple panels with the wire and PVC pipe, make it easier to put up/take down and the smaller panel can act as a gate.