We gotta talk! :-o

[coach723]

I was a nervous wreck the first time I let a broody hatch. Seriously my blood pressure must have been off the charts and I probably appeared deranged. But in the end, I let her do her thing, she did admirably, and I learned not to worry so much. The vast majority of the time, they actually do know what to do, and they do it well. Hell hath no fury like a broody mama, she will protect them. I move my broodies to a parallel 'nursery' run that I put in just for this, but I move them as I said, when they start to sit. I have multiple roosters, so I don't take the chance that she would be outnumbered in trying to protect them. Can you put up a temporary fence to separate her until hatch is done and everyone is dried out and moving about?

 

[GrannyHeeney]

I was a nervous wreck the first time I let a broody hatch. Seriously my blood pressure must have been off the charts and I probably appeared deranged. But in the end, I let her do her thing, she did admirably, and I learned not to worry so much. The vast majority of the time, they actually do know what to do, and they do it well. Hell hath no fury like a broody mama, she will protect them. I move my broodies to a parallel 'nursery' run that I put in just for this, but I move them as I said, when they start to sit. I have multiple roosters, so I don't take the chance that she would be outnumbered in trying to protect them. Can you put up a temporary fence to separate her until hatch is done and everyone is dried out and moving about?

I have a 10' x 10' chain link dog pen (basically) with a store-bought coop sitting right in the middle--she's inside the wee coop (pictured below). I manually put everyone into the little coop at night (I lost half my flock to predators last year, so I'm all about securing them). I can just shut the front door to keep them out and maybe figure something else to do with the other 4 for a while. Maybe I could move Mollie's group into the bottom half once everyone's hatched?

 

[MissChick@dee]

I’m thinking chickens have been raising chickens since the egg. Now we know the chicken came first. Best of luck to the new parents

 

[GrannyHeeney]

I've avoided posting a pic of my set-up because it's pretty ugly. Everyone else has such pretty homes for their chickies! But here it is, when all I had were Scrambled and Dumpling. (I took this right before I put new straw in)

 

[GrannyHeeney]

WE GOT A CHICK! W00t! It's the size of a quarter! I peeked under Mollie at 11 and there was a small poke hole--I could see a teeny beak end with an egg tooth...3 hours later, my friend and I went back in and there was a chick! That little feller was in a hurry! I picked him up for just a sec and he snuggled my hand. Mollie is less grumpy toward us. As for the 2 eggs...1 seems to smell... :-o The one that doesn't seem to smell feels lighter. My friend says the lighter may have a chick (fluid is heavier?), so we're leaving them all alone for now. Maybe we'll get 2....

I was going to take a pic but somewhere between here and the 20' to my friend's house, I lost my blasted phone! Are you kidding me!!!!

 

[lilmillefleur]

Yay!! Congrats!
Be sure to give both mom and chicks the chick feed—layer feed can damage chicks over the long run.

 

[GrannyHeeney]

Yay!! Congrats!
Be sure to give both mom and chicks the chick feed—layer feed can damage chicks over the long run.

Yah, as soon as my daughter's home from work, I can mug her for some medicated chick starter. I did want to check with y'all, though--what is the period of time to not panic (LOL) before he starts eating?

 

[lilmillefleur]

Yah, as soon as my daughter's home from work, I can mug her for some medicated chick starter. I did want to check with y'all, though--what is the period of time to not panic (LOL) before he starts eating?

I dunno if adults can eat medicated...I’m guessing not. I’d go with non medicated.

 

[lilmillefleur]

I dunno if adults can eat medicated...I’m guessing not. I’d go with non medicated.

I looked it up actually and I think it’s okay so nvm

 

[MotherOfPeepPeeps]

How about if I scoot her and the kids into their own place out there? If my bestie and I can set up some sort of apartment for her really quick today, would those eggs react badly to a move? Dang this weather!

I'd wait for them all to hatch before attempting a move, but I bet they will be fine where they are... A mamma chicken is a force to reckon with! She's brought them this far, so she is obviously dedicated.