Want to use a Broody hen to raise chicks?

[Balboaroc]

I currently have a flock of 7 hens that are ready to turn a year old on March 1st. We had a few roosters this past year but they weren't a good fit for our family so they have went on to bigger and better things in the great beyond.

One of my ladies is a Buff Cochin and she seems to have taken a turn for the broody. I'm a little excited about this as I've read that you can buy new chicks and just put them under a broody hen and let her do all the raising (provided you separate them of course).

I would like to add between 3-5 new chicks to the flock this year and would like to find the inns and outs of doing this. I did the brooder for our flock last year but would not like to repeat having chicks in the house. We have a small home and where we had them last year our cat is now inhabiting. It would be really ideal to have my girl Lucy do the raising for me.

I tried doing a search on here first but I just got so many unrelated threads when I typed in broody LOL.

My main questions are...
1. I don't plan on putting chicks under her until warmer weather...at least April. Should I try to break her from being broody now or just let her go until we do the chick raising?

2. Basic how to of letting a Momma raise the chicks. I've heard they don't need to sit on eggs any length of time first since they have no "clock" telling them a chick should have hatched by now. I do know they need to be separated and would like to do a test run to make sure she will sit first before putting babies under her.

3. How and when to slowly start intergrating them back in with the flock. We are big on free ranging in the yard but they also have a large covered run.

4. Is there an ideal time to start this? At least April when it starts to get warmer I assume...

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kittymomma]

How cold is it where you are? I wouldn't leave her broody for that long because they don't take good care of themselves while they're broody. You'll be surprised about how well mamma hen can take care of the babies even in fairly crummy weather so unless yours is really horrible I'd put chicks under her in the next couple of weeks--You'll probably have pullets laying eggs before fall that way too.

Do make sure that you are able to brood your chicks if mamma won't take them. Good luck and have fun! I want a broody too!!!!

 

[card5640]

I would break her of her broody behavior for now, till its warmer, but they will do amazingly well. She will go broody again pretty quick, if she didnt get her mthering needs met the first time. Once mine goes broody I put her nest in a big wire rabbit cage with the door open so she can come and go if she wishes, I do put food/water in there too. She sits for a long time and will get up to go poop, and man does that saved up poop stink! Ive been in the yard and can tell by the smell that she is off the nest briefly, and she is a real crab when she is off and everyone gets out of her way. Once the babies are born ( adorable) I close the cage for a few days and let them be alone. The cage sits in the corner of the coop. After a few days they may decide to venture out and the momma keeps a close eye on them and will attack anyone who comes near, shes assists with intergrating them. After they are about 3 months old you can see how they learn their place in the flock. I have cooked eggs in there and started and I put egg crumble up higher for the mom. Moms do lose weight so the starter is good for them too at this point. Ive had good luck, sitting in the coop at 1am on a milk crate with my neighbor watching them hatch was great fun. Good luck

 

[Balboaroc]

I'm in Maryland so its too cold for me to mess with her raising chicks right now. We also have about 40 inches of melting snow on the ground LOL. I'm thinking I may put her in my large dog crate when its time to separate her. It would be the perfect size for her and the babies.

I'm guessing all she would need in there for roosting is a little nest size box correct?

Another reason I'm thinking April is because worse case scenario I can brood them on my own again but in the garage, just not in the house.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Any other helpful tips will give me something to think about until then.

 

[Ridgerunner]

May I suggest you read this thread. Many people let the broody raise the chicks with the flock. They have successfully been doing this for thousands of years. There are advantages and disadvantages both ways. There are risks both ways. To me, how much room Mama has to work with is a big factor. Anyway, you can get my opinion and other's opinions in this thread.

Raise with flock? thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=215937&p=1

I personally would not wait until April. Being broody is hard on a hen. She does not eat and drink enough and usually loses weight while broody. She can keep the chicks warm in the colder weather. If you decide to break her, there is no way of knowing when she will go broody again. I'd start planning on doing it within the next two or three weeks.

I think your question about a "how to" is really how to give her the chicks so she will accept them. Please correct me if I am wrong. Whether or not you separate her from the rest of your flock while she is waiting on the chicks is your decision. If you leave her with the flock you need to collect the eggs they will lay under her on a daily basis. Whether you separate her or not, I would put a couple of fake eggs under her. When you get the chicks, slip them under her at night while she is asleep. You can remove the fake eggs or not. Doesn't matter. Make as little commotion and use as little light as possible. Be sure you are there early the next morning when she wakes up. She will either accept them or not. Usually they will but occasionally they will not. In that case you need to be ready to take them and raise them yourself. You have to use some discretion in detemining if she has accepted them or not. It is not unusual for a mama hen to give her chick a disciplinary peck, much to say, "You naughty little girl. Get back under me and stay warm." or "Don't try to wander off on your own." Sometimes however, a hen will not accept the chicks and will peck them to death. You should be able to tell the difference pretty easily if you are prepared for it. If she does accept them, let her decide when to take them out of the nest.

Integration is one of the reasons I like a broody to raise the chicks with the flock. If mama raises them with the flock, she will take care of the integration issues. A good broody has such an attitude that the rest of the hens quickly learn to leave her and her babies alone. When the broody weans the chicks, they are already accepted into the flock. This does not mean there will not be pecking order issues, but these are going to happen no matter what you do and will probably not occur until they are pretty much fully grown. Then the chicks are probably the ones to initiate them.

I just read the posts that came in while I was typing. I understand your reason for wanting to wait. You may have to brood them yourself. Makes sense. In that case I would break her now, but remember there is no guarantee he will go broody again anytime soon.

 

[card5640]

If your coop is big enough I would have them in there where the others can see them and slowly get exposed to the babies, and she can let them beyond her wing span on in awhile a slow intergration is usually more successful. I usually use a box that a case of paper comes in and cut out 1/2 the lond side, as she is sitting I put water and food in each of the corners she she doesnt have to go far. Actually we started out with a harsh winter per usual in Maine but it has tappered off nicely. But it isnt over yet! Hopefully yours is.

 

[card5640]

Pardon me for interpeting the post incorrectly, I was assuming you were going to put eggs under her, not live chicks. Higher risk but some chickens take to it really well. Good luck and pardon my ramblings.

 

[andalusn]

I am taking a slightly different turn on this. My hen who went broody and moved into my haystack came out Friday with 3 peeps. On Saturday morning there she was at the hen house / feeding area just waiting with her brood. I went a head and kept to the usual pattern of letting the hens out. Threw out the usual ration of corn (main feeder is inside hen house) New mother hen was very hungry so I gave her her own section of corn. The other hens gave her no mind and the rooster came over and did a stomping dance and she gave him what for and he left. Within 10 min everyone was off doing what they do each morning and the mother hen stayed behind by the feed. After giving if some thought we decided to put her in a dog kennel in the same area where she can be seen and see the others and eat in the usual spot but be assured of privacy with the peeps while they are so very small. I plan on playing it by ear and if they seem to want to go back into the hen house at night we can work on that when they have some size on them. I still have one hen in the hen house that is broody and sitting on eggs. I guess she can be "Broody hen, the sequal"

 

[4 Love of Baby Chickens]

Go ahead the put some chicks under Mama or buy some fertil eggs to put under her. Mama will know what to do. She'll keep them warm and toasty.

Most of the hens I've always raised my baby chicks with make sure that the other flock members to keep their distance. And they usually are spending the day with the flock and at night are put back up inside the "Clutch Hutch". By the time they turn 2 weeks they are compleatly intagrated with the flock and they are sleeping in a nest I give to them on the floor.

All the broodies I've had in the past 2 years are in the 2 top positions of the flock.

I can't wait for one of my Barred Rock hens to go broody again. I love raising baby chicks. I'm planning on raising lots of Black Sexlinks and RIR's this year to sell for extra money. I'll probably keep 6 or so RIR pullets for breeding and laying.

I'm planning on putting one egg from Marshmellow and one egg from Blueberry under Pepper and Chilli too. I'm just curious to see what I get with a RIR X EE cross. Especially from my EE hen that won 1st and Grand Champion at the fair in 2009.

What color chick do you think I'd get from a white EE hen crossed with a RIR rooster?