Should i let my broody raise them at this time of year?

[ninjascrub69]

I have 6 eggs due to hatch on the 3rd, and i also have a broody EE. So should i break the EE, and just raise the chicks in the brooder, or let the EE have them?

 

[Judy]

Definitely let the mama raise them. They'll grow faster, and be healthier and wiser. You'd be surprised how cold it can get and still the baby chicks will run around outdoors. And there's always mama to keep them warm; no coop fires from a broody.

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Broody-Hens-1.html

Have fun!

 

[Fluffy-Butt-Farms]

i let my broody raise them thru december and most of january, then i took them away so she can start laying for me again. florida did go down in the teen for a couple weeks, and they were all fine. momma knows what to do. they'll be fine.

 

[happyhens44]

I let my broodies each raise some chicks and they hatched just fine

there was no problem. People say its too cold, but mine a perfectly fine with there mama. the babies hatched 7 days ago

 

[jm93030]

I agree that mama does a good job

But for personal inexperience I can say that things can happen baby chicks are curios as little kids , they can get hurt , they can get stuck, they can drown and they are easy to get from predators.


Im sure mama hen willl teach them a natural way of being a chicken

but just make sure they wont get hurt

I have lost a handfull of babys just because I wanted them to be raise naturally

and I always felt guilty , thinking that inside the house in the brooder it coulnt happen
specially if this chicks came from expensive shipped eggs

after my experience I dont let mama hen care for the babys, I always try to interrupt any broody hen

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Valid points Yes, there are also definite advantages to the broody raising them. Like, chicks don't get pasty butt, and get some immunities from mama, from eating a bit of poop, for example. And of course learn the finer points of foraging, esp. if mama is free range. I've had 5 broodies and have lost a few chicks, in my case both to a predator and to a broody who killed her hatching chicks. In my case, these are mutts for meat and eggs, so all I've lost is a few eggs I didn't get to eat. If I'd spent a bunch of money on the eggs, though, I might be more inclined to use an incubator or maybe put the broody in my bathroom. Also, in my case, I'd have to buy the incubator.

Of course, accidents happen in brooders, too, sometimes freak ones that you'd never anticipate.

Good article about broodies:

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Broody-Hens-1.html

Oops, take it back, I did buy shipped eggs once and put them under a broody, just to break a persistent broody. Got 2 chicks out of 8 or 9 eggs, which arrived well packed but full of dried poop. Now I hang onto some roos.

 

[ninjascrub69]

Thanks! I'll let the broody raise them.