Tips on raising eggs under broody hen

[Owain1]

Our Silky, which is the bottom of the pecking order, went broody four days ago. Because of Covid 19 I can't get baby chicks, but I was able to get fertile eggs. So I put them under her. I have read a lot about caring for her for the next 21 days. She has access to water and food within reach and I've made it so the other hens can't disturb her. I have a brood box from when I started all my other chicks and will move her into that. Anyway, I see that once the chicks hatch I should keep mother and babies separate from the flock for 10- 12 weeks. I can make it so they are in a run that is separate, but within the main run so the other chickens can see them, but can't get to them. I'm concerned about how to introduce them to the flock. I'm just wondering if because the silky is by far the bottom of the pecking order, can she protect her chicks from the other chickens. They already push momma around so how do I keep the babies safe from the flock. Also, I don't have a rooster.

 

[FarmInProgress]

I would keep the baby chicks and momma hen separate from the other chickens. Sometimes the other hens will kill the baby chicks

 

[Ridgerunner]

How much room do you have, in the coop and in the run? Also, how many chickens total? One very common reason chickens get picked on is that you don't have enough room. There can be other reasons, but lack of room is common enough to raise the question. If room is already tight trying to add more chickens can be really rough.

Where is that hen and her eggs now? If you are going to move a broody hen the best time is before you give her fertile eggs so you know she will take the move without breaking from being broody. You are past that point so let's go from here. Where is here. Where is she and what do you have to work with. Sometimes building a pen around her nest that keeps her in and everyone else out is a good way forward fir incubation and hatch. Or if you are going to move her let us know what you have to work with (photos can help) so we can offer specific suggestions.

I personally let my broody hens raise their chicks with the flock from Day 1. Others might isolate them for a couple of days so the chicks are more active. I like the hen taking care of integration for me. It's never been an issue for me but our facilities are almost certainly different. Another important consideration is that each flock has its own dynamics. What works for me may not work for you. Just because someone else had a problem does not men you will.

Other people do what you are proposing, keeping them separated. At some point the hen will wean her chicks, stop taking care of them and protecting them. You will need to reintegrate that hen at that point. You will also have to handle chick integration yourself. I've had a broody hen wean her chicks after 3 weeks, some broodies might take care of their chicks for 3 months. You never know.

A word of warning. If you do isolate that hen and her chicks, make very sure the chicks cannot escape. If they get where the hen cannot get to them to protect them they are vulnerable. The other hens might injure or kill them, or predators may be able to take advantage. I've had that happen a couple of times. Not because I was trying to isolate a hen and her chicks but the chicks got through a fence and the broody could not follow. When a broody goes crazy trying to get to her chicks to protect them she doesn't think to use a gate.

 

[Farm life101]

Our Silky, which is the bottom of the pecking order, went broody four days ago. Because of Covid 19 I can't get baby chicks, but I was able to get fertile eggs. So I put them under her. I have read a lot about caring for her for the next 21 days. She has access to water and food within reach and I've made it so the other hens can't disturb her. I have a brood box from when I started all my other chicks and will move her into that. Anyway, I see that once the chicks hatch I should keep mother and babies separate from the flock for 10- 12 weeks. I can make it so they are in a run that is separate, but within the main run so the other chickens can see them, but can't get to them. I'm concerned about how to introduce them to the flock. I'm just wondering if because the silky is by far the bottom of the pecking order, can she protect her chicks from the other chickens. They already push momma around so how do I keep the babies safe from the flock. Also, I don't have a rooster.

Not having a rooster can make it a bit trickier to raise chicks with a hen as the pecking order is with hens and not just one rooster that is above all hens. Definitely keep her and the chicks separate and make sure that there is no way a hen can get to them as they will kill the chicks. When i raise chicks with a hen i find its a lot easier to have them where they can always see and hear each other growing up but don't let them be with the flock until they are almost the size of your other hens or fully grown. Best of luck!

 

[Owain1]

How much room do you have, in the coop and in the run? Also, how many chickens total? One very common reason chickens get picked on is that you don't have enough room. There can be other reasons, but lack of room is common enough to raise the question. If room is already tight trying to add more chickens can be really rough.

Where is that hen and her eggs now? If you are going to move a broody hen the best time is before you give her fertile eggs so you know she will take the move without breaking from being broody. You are past that point so let's go from here. Where is here. Where is she and what do you have to work with. Sometimes building a pen around her nest that keeps her in and everyone else out is a good way forward fir incubation and hatch. Or if you are going to move her let us know what you have to work with (photos can help) so we can offer specific suggestions.

I personally let my broody hens raise their chicks with the flock from Day 1. Others might isolate them for a couple of days so the chicks are more active. I like the hen taking care of integration for me. It's never been an issue for me but our facilities are almost certainly different. Another important consideration is that each flock has its own dynamics. What works for me may not work for you. Just because someone else had a problem does not men you will.

Other people do what you are proposing, keeping them separated. At some point the hen will wean her chicks, stop taking care of them and protecting them. You will need to reintegrate that hen at that point. You will also have to handle chick integration yourself. I've had a broody hen wean her chicks after 3 weeks, some broodies might take care of their chicks for 3 months. You never know.

A word of warning. If you do isolate that hen and her chicks, make very sure the chicks cannot escape. If they get where the hen cannot get to them to protect them they are vulnerable. The other hens might injure or kill them, or predators may be able to take advantage. I've had that happen a couple of times. Not because I was trying to isolate a hen and her chicks but the chicks got through a fence and the broody could not follow. When a broody goes crazy trying to get to her chicks to protect them she doesn't think to use a gate.

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Thank you for all your help. My situation now is, I have 10 hens, the run is about 50 square feet. then there's coop another 24 square feet. Sticking out of the coup are four nesting boxes each about 16" x 18." I also let them free range in my yard most days. The silky doesn't get beat up, it's just watching them I can pretty much tell that she's the bottom of the pecking order. Since she isn't moving a put a piece of cardboard covering the entrance to the nesting box she is in for now. In the box I put a small container of water and another of food and check that they are full a couple times a day. That's the situation now. I have a brood box that I raised all the chickens I have in so far. it's 24" x 30" x 12" tall. It's a commercial one so I can open two different places on top and I can pull out one of the sides to attach to a run. I was planning building a nest in it and moving her. If that could endanger her staying broody, I could leave her where she is now. it will work. I could even build a door on the nesting box with hardware cloth so the other chickens can see her and the babies for a little while before I let them all out into the main run. However, in that small a space I'd probably have to let them join the others in about 2 to 3 weeks I'd guess. The main coop will hold them at that age (I found out the hard way on that), and I won't let them free range until they are much older. I'm also planning on expanding my main run by another 50 square feet during this stay at home time. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Owain1]

Not having a rooster can make it a bit trickier to raise chicks with a hen as the pecking order is with hens and not just one rooster that is above all hens. Definitely keep her and the chicks separate and make sure that there is no way a hen can get to them as they will kill the chicks. When i raise chicks with a hen i find its a lot easier to have them where they can always see and hear each other growing up but don't let them be with the flock until they are almost the size of your other hens or fully grown. Best of luck!

Thank you.

 

[Ridgerunner]

So your coop is about 4' x 6', your run is about 6' x 8' and you have 10 hens. Building an additional section of run will certainly help, I'm surprised you aren't having behavioral problems with what you have now. And you want to add more chickens to that. I consider that very risky,

If you lock the broody hen in the nest she needs room to get off the nest and poop, doesn't sound like she has that. She will hod it as long as she can, but if she poops on the eggs they will almost certainly get bacteria inside them and kill the chicks long before they hatch. You might be OK giving her two of those nests and tearing down the divider, but leave a lip at the bottom to keep her nest on one side. Doing that does not sound practical. Some people build a pen around the nest to give her room to poop but your coop is too small to do that inside. With the nests hanging off the side that does not sound easy either.

One option might be to open up the nest once a day, take her out, and set her on the ground. She should take off after a few minutes, eating, drinking, and taking a poop. At some point she will go back to that nest, but it could be 15 minutes or over an hour.

If you are going to leave her in that nest I would not lock her in. Let her come and go as she wishes. Mark the eggs so you know which ones belong (I use a Sharpie) and check under her every day after the others have laid to remove any that don't belong. Anything else just doesn't sound practical.

In your situation I'd try to move her. I consider your coop/run set-up too small. Set up a nest in that brooder box, it should be big enough. There is a chance she will break if you move her but many of us do it all the time. Many committed broody hens do not break. I'd make the nest itself pretty dark, that seems to help. I'd also make the nest so you can lock her in the nest only with that making the nest really dark. Let her have her freedom in that other nest for the day before the move so she poops and such. Then, after it is really dark, move her and the eggs to that nest and lock her in. Leave her locked in total darkness the nest day until really late, just a little daylight left. Then open that door so she can get off the nest and leave it off. She might come out then but probably not. She will probably come off the next morning to eat, drink, and poop. I can't give you guarantees but this almost always works. If she absolutely refuses to accept the move and relentlessly paces that brooder for an hour or so, let her out. She should go back to her nest. Give her the eggs, they should be OK.

So what do you do after she hatches, whether in that brooder or in her original nest? She might be able to take care of them with the flock, especially with extra run space. With them shoehorned in there that tightly it will be harder for hr to take care of them, but most of the time my other chickens aren't that much of a threat. Of course I have a lot more room. If they could all free range all day it would make it a lot easier.

But at some point she will wean them. I've had some wean their chicks at three week, some go almost three months before they leave hem to make their way with the flock. That is the time I'd really worry about. Even my chicks that were three weeks old when weaned were able to take care of themselves. One way they do that is to avoid the adults. They form a separate sub-flock and stay away from the adults during he day and avoid them when sleeping at night. Even with the additional run space and especially with that tiny coop you don't have room unless you let hem all free range all day every day, but that still leaves that tiny coop.. I think with that limited run space and especially that tiny coop you are headed for disaster, whether you let her try to integrate them into the flock for you or even if you keep them separate until they are fully grown and try to integrate them. You do not have the room it is going to take.

 

[igorsMistress]

I dunno where the 10 to 12 weeks came from? My broody was done with her chicks by the time they were a couple of months old and had them out with the rest of the flock in a week.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I dunno where the 10 to 12 weeks came from? My broody was done with her chicks by the time they were a couple of months old and had them out with the rest of the flock in a week.

My guess is that someone did it once or twice and that's how long it took theirs to wean them. So they assume that's how long it always takes. That happens a lot on here. As mentioned above, I've seen broodies wean their chicks anywhere for 3 weeks to almost three months. They are certainly not consistent.

 

[igorsMistress]

My guess is that someone did it once or twice and that's how long it took theirs to wean them. So they assume that's how long it always takes. That happens a lot on here. As mentioned above, I've seen broodies wean their chicks anywhere for 3 weeks to almost three months. They are certainly not consistent.

They certainly aren't!