what do i do for her

[chickie momma di]

well it's official, gracie is my broody bo. because we didn't know what was going on until it was too late we had to get eggs from a co-workers friend's farm and that is what she is now sitting on. she has seemed to accept all of the eggs but one (she kicked it out of her nest). we make her get out of her nest (cause if we didn't i'm scared she wouldn't) once a day to make sure she eats and drinks and streaches her legs and she hops back up into her box. heres my question, will she make a nest on the floor when the babies are born? do i need to make a box on the floor for her.

i realy don't want to disturb her nest. how will the babies eat? when i hatched gracie and her brothers i gave them water and chick crumbles. do i just make that available????? i want to be a good chickie grand mommie. how much of this will gracie just take care of herself????

my next question is about mr. chubbs. he is such an attentive mate to gracie. he never lets her out of his site unless he's checking on the eggs for the few minutes she's eating or drinking. am i going to need to seperate them when the eggs hatch? will he be a good daddy or is that not possible?
any info would be appreciated.

 

[Bec]

You will have to make sure she is safe, if that means making her a box, then I would. My broody just hatched out 4 babies on top of my stack of hay bales in the barn, I let her stay there for 1 day, then I moved her into the laying boxed in the coop. I put a small dish with marbles in it for water and a little dish for food. Momma will teach them how to eat and drink! That was really neat to see the momma instincts kick in. The rest of the flock accepted them right in and the momma keeps a close ye on them to be sure they are safe. If you notice that the others are not nice, then you will have to keep her separated with her babies for while.

She will be fine in whatever nest you put her in as long as her babies are there. I would definitely make sure it is on the floor so they don't get hurt from falling. I would make sure you put the baby crumbles very close or in the nest box so they don;t have to go far to eat or drink.

 

[chickie momma di]

thanks. that's what i was thinking of. i think i know exactly where we'll hook her up.

 

[gritsar]

In anticipation of having a broody hen this spring I purchased a smallish dog training crate - the wire kind, not the travel kind. It fits just perfect in an unused corner of my coop. It also came with attachable feed/water dishes.
I figure this way I'll be able to move the hen, nest and all, to the cage to keep her young'uns safe while still allowing the hen to see and be seen by the flock.

 

[chickie momma di]

until the babies are borne it's only gracie & mr chubbs. right now he's being the model husband but.......will it last or will i have to keep either him or her and the little ones seperate?

 

[Bec]

I think it really just depends on him. My roo is a little ornery when it comes to us, but has no problem with the babies at all, he was helping show them how to eat and drink!

When they do hatch, I would introduce them, just sit in and observe to make sure everything is ok before you walk away. I sat in my coop for a good hour and kept going back to check on them.

 

[JandJRanch]

Couple questions for a newbie here.
I live in south florida...just to set the climate tone.
I adopted a white cochin pair and a RHR pair. I don't know
their history, just know their toenails are discustingly long, the spurs on the RHR are awfully long. Now here are my questions.
I went out to buy them some food. And, well, I got into trouble,
the feed store just got in 3 day old hatchlings. So, what did I do, I purchased two buff orps and two americanas. I've had them two weeks now, they have wing and tiny tail feathers and I have them under a lamp in an aquarium container in my daughters room.
So, when I read about the "broody" hens here, what do I do with my baby chics? Do I turn them lose in the coop? When, how old do they have to be. It sounds like here that your new chics are already in the coop. Everyday I have to let out one rooster at a time, or they will kill each other. So, I let the RHR's out for a day, than I put the White Cochin rooster in his dog cage at night and the next day I rotate them. But, what do I do with the new chics?
I read that the chics need to be kept warm, like change the temp, by 5 degrees each week until they can handle 70 degrees.
I'm confused.
Anyone can help me out here?
thanks so much.
J and J Ranch

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Hi and welcome to BYC. To get the most responses to your questions it's best to start your own thread. To add your questions on to someone else's thread is considered hijacking and it will often be ignored for that reason.
If you don't know how to post a thread of your own, PM me and I will explain how.
I wouldn't allow the new chicks to be in with your current chickens until they are bigger and better able to defend themselves.
If possible, you could build a temporary wall in your coop out of wire with a wood frame; little ones on one side, big ones on the other. Or you could move your whole brooder full of chicks to the coop if you have the room and it's warm enough for the chicks.
You are correct about the temp. requirements. 90 to 95 degrees the first week of life, decreasing by 5 degrees a week until you reach 70 degrees and the chicks are mostly feathered out.
I was able to take the heat lamp away from mine at 5 1/2 weeks, as they had been slowly acclimating to the cooler temps.

Good luck!

 

[chickie momma di]

welcome to byc janjranch. gritsar has some good advise thats one of the reasons why you'll find byc such a great site. take your time and look through the threads and topics. you'll find answers to your sepcific questions. if you can't find something use the google search button on the top right of your byc screen. congratulations on your babies. watch the number of roos to hens you have so there won't be any problems. good luck