Taking chicks away from broody mother or not?

[Goose_Goose]

I have a broody hen and her eggs are about to hatch. She layed them at different times and days. When her first babies hatch will she abandon her eggs to take care of the new born chicks. I want her to hatch all the eggs. Is there anyway I could do this. Please help.

 

[ShannonR]

They will most likely hatch within a couple days of each other.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Take the chicks as they hatch and brood them yourself. You can leave her the last to hatch if you want to. Otherwise she will leave the nest about 2 days after the first hatches.

 

[ShannonR]

Question to the OP:

Were the eggs just laid on different days? Or was the hen broody before the last of the eggs were laid? Is there a chance other hens laid in the nest after your hen started brooding the eggs?

The way you described it in the first post, sounds completely normal to me and I think they should all hatch close to the same time.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Question to the OP:

Were the eggs just laid on different days? Or was the hen broody before the last of the eggs were laid? Is there a chance other hens laid in the nest after your hen started brooding the eggs?

The way you described it in the first post, sounds completely normal to me and I think they should all hatch close to the same time.

Good question. I read it as a staggered hatch. If the hen laid them on different days, but started incubating at the same time than that's normal.

 

[Goose_Goose]

Question to the OP:

Were the eggs just laid on different days? Or was the hen broody before the last of the eggs were laid? Is there a chance other hens laid in the nest after your hen started brooding the eggs?

The way you described it in the first post, sounds completely normal to me and I think they should all hatch close to the same time.

She became broody before laying her last eggs. And other hens have been laying eggs where she had hers so we had to seperate her and more her nest.

 

[ShannonR]

Okay, I see now. Taking the chicks away from the hen as they hatch should get you more chicks then.

 

[Goose_Goose]

Take the chicks as they hatch and brood them yourself. You can leave her the last to hatch if you want to. Otherwise she will leave the nest about 2 days after the first hatches.

Can I put the chicks I took back when the rest hatch? Or will she no longer accept them. I wanted to take the chicks that first hatch at night and wait till the others hatch. And then at night when all have hatched, I wanted to put back the first chicks that hatched back with their mother.

 

[Acre4Me]

Can I put the chicks I took back when the rest hatch? Or will she no longer accept them. I wanted to take the chicks that first hatch at night and wait till the others hatch. And then at night when all have hatched, I wanted to put back the first chicks that hatched back with their mother.

You plan if doing the transfers at night sounds reasonable. Alternatively, you could remove the eggs snd incubate them to hatch and place them all under her at once. Give her fake eggs in the meantime. However, won’t work as well if there are more than 6-7 days between first and last hatch,.

 

[chickens really]

What I'd do and what I do is let her have them all and provide feed and water right close to her nest so she remains setting while the first hatched ones eat and drink. Only when she leaves the nest after to forage with Chicks do I bring the remaining eggs to the incubator.