Hi everyone!
I live in the Rocky Mountains, and currently have 2 broody hens (bantam cochin and cuckoo marans) that I am considering hatching under. I have some questions about when, where, and how to do this. As a quick background I hatched my first 6 eggs in an incubator last spring, and have chickens for about 2 years. The eggs I would be hatching are barnyard mix. I have 16 hens and one rooster, the rooster being a welsummer over an easter egger. He's about 10 months old, and is actively breeding the hens. I check the eggs, and the majority are fertile.
It's been a warm winter for us, but we just hit another cold streak, and the temps get down to 0 at night and up to around 35 during the day. It may be another month or so of this kind of weather. I have a covered run with straw bedding that the chickens hang out in during the day, as well as access to the frozen yard in which they can free range. They do go out to the compost pile to scratch, and usually no chickens hang out in the coop during the day except for the broodies, the hens who are laying, and one little bantam D'Uccle who is just afraid of the world.
I have 6 nesting boxes, and work from home so I can watch them closely. The 2 broody nests are typically only used by the mean little mommies, and they are sitting on the nests all day minus a quick pee break mid-morning. I have 6 ceramic eggs out there due to some egg eater problems last year. These ceramic eggs have been claimed by the broodies. They have both been on the nests for about 2 weeks now. The cochin is only about 10 months old, and this is her first time going broody. The marans has been broody multiple times, including a bout of about 2-3 months of broodiness last summer. I think I can trust her to not leave the eggs.
So my questions are: 1.) Is it too cold still to hatch eggs? 2.) Am I okay just letting the broodies hatch on their current nests? They don't get messed with much during the day, as there is plenty of nesting space, and they are very mean right now. 3.) Is it okay to let the moms raise their babies with the flock? I have a lot of space, no overcrowding problems, and there are places where the hen could take the chicks that are dry and away from the flock during the day.
Thanks for any and all advice. It certainly seems like broody hens are the way to hatch eggs, and I am excited to let some of these chickens fill their urge to be mothers.