I'm sure this is a familiar story.....on a lark I gave my broody Cochin a few EE eggs. She abandonded them after a couple of weeks and one of the EEs took over. I really wasn't expecting anything as my rooster is a BIG Cochin and I thought I read that they have fertilization issues. I guess he doesn't since all three hatched last night/early morning. Now I feel like the dog who caught the car. I've already gleaned some of the info I need from other posts, but what about feeding? My 19 hens and one rooster eat a Layer Pellet. How do you feed the chicks that are in the same coop with the others? Do I need to worry about them eating the Grown-Up food and getting sick? If I throw out extra crumbles, will it be bad if some of the Grown-Ups eat it too?
FYI my guys have a coop that they are locked in at night, but they free range during the day.
I'd like to go au natural with this set, let Momma do what she needs to do. I told my son that if these don't "work out" I promise that in the Spring we'll buy an incubator and raise the babies inside just like we did all of the grown-ups we got from the Hatchery. But right now time, finances, etc do not allow for me to build a seperate coop for the momma a/o babies. I thought for sure there are some of you who let their Hens raise babies themselves amongst the rest of the flock.
Any words of wisdom?
Thanks!
This is my son and the oldest chick this morning.
Here is the Daddy.
The Momma is either one of my "Hawk" (sorry, don't know the proper wording) colored EEs or my white one. It is one of the "Hawk" colored ones who has hatched them.
FYI my guys have a coop that they are locked in at night, but they free range during the day.
I'd like to go au natural with this set, let Momma do what she needs to do. I told my son that if these don't "work out" I promise that in the Spring we'll buy an incubator and raise the babies inside just like we did all of the grown-ups we got from the Hatchery. But right now time, finances, etc do not allow for me to build a seperate coop for the momma a/o babies. I thought for sure there are some of you who let their Hens raise babies themselves amongst the rest of the flock.
Any words of wisdom?
Thanks!
This is my son and the oldest chick this morning.

Here is the Daddy.

The Momma is either one of my "Hawk" (sorry, don't know the proper wording) colored EEs or my white one. It is one of the "Hawk" colored ones who has hatched them.
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