- Jul 14, 2014
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Greetings all...I have looked at other posts and still have questions, please bear with me??
My buff orp. hen has been broody for about 2 months...I have followed many ideas on here to break her, and as a last resort I put fertile eggs under her. She has been on them (5) for almost 2 weeks. I've been giving her food, but she wont take the water. I have taken her off the nest to go out and poo and she eats the (wet) grass. But she won't stay off the eggs long, maybe 2-4 min max. She is in the coop (2 levels) with the other hens, I don't have any roos, so these eggs were given to me by a friend. So here are my 1st time questions:
1. It is chilly now (Dec) in Arkansas, and at night I close my girls up in the (top of the) coop, with a heat lamp, will the chicks get
cold even under mama? (lows in low 30's)
2. None of the other hens bother mama, but if she has been broody for so long, will she indeed protect the chicks?
3. My hens were hand raised, should I take chicks away from her to hand raise them or will that make her stay broody?
4. Will the chicks be able to go up and down the ramp at a day or two old?
5. Or should I keep mama and the chicks in the house? (that would stink after a few days!)
6. I've read that when the chicks are given chick starter, the other hens will eat it too and stop laying (or something like that), how
do I keep the laying hens from eating the chick starter? And equally, how do I keep the younger ones from eating the laying pellets? I don't have room or opportunity to keep them isolated, plus I want them to integrate....
7. Any other suggestions would be helpful....I'm learning!!
Blessings....juleeque
My buff orp. hen has been broody for about 2 months...I have followed many ideas on here to break her, and as a last resort I put fertile eggs under her. She has been on them (5) for almost 2 weeks. I've been giving her food, but she wont take the water. I have taken her off the nest to go out and poo and she eats the (wet) grass. But she won't stay off the eggs long, maybe 2-4 min max. She is in the coop (2 levels) with the other hens, I don't have any roos, so these eggs were given to me by a friend. So here are my 1st time questions:
1. It is chilly now (Dec) in Arkansas, and at night I close my girls up in the (top of the) coop, with a heat lamp, will the chicks get
cold even under mama? (lows in low 30's)
2. None of the other hens bother mama, but if she has been broody for so long, will she indeed protect the chicks?
3. My hens were hand raised, should I take chicks away from her to hand raise them or will that make her stay broody?
4. Will the chicks be able to go up and down the ramp at a day or two old?
5. Or should I keep mama and the chicks in the house? (that would stink after a few days!)
6. I've read that when the chicks are given chick starter, the other hens will eat it too and stop laying (or something like that), how
do I keep the laying hens from eating the chick starter? And equally, how do I keep the younger ones from eating the laying pellets? I don't have room or opportunity to keep them isolated, plus I want them to integrate....
7. Any other suggestions would be helpful....I'm learning!!
Blessings....juleeque