When is the Best Time to Allow Hatching?

[bobbi-j]

In June, I will be in 1 year raising chickens. I ordered my chicks from Meyer and with the exception of winding up with 5 roosters out of the 18 hens, they have done great. Getting up to a dozen eggs a day or every two days.

I live in Houston, and plan on allowing my hens to hatch some of their own. Since this is still new to me, my questions are:

Living in a warmer climate, though right now we are 39 degrees, is there a better time of the year to allow them to hatch?

I have had chicks out in the coop without a broody at around 40*. They did fine with heat lamps, so chicks with their mama will be even better off. There are people here on BYC that have had chicks when there is snow on the ground and the chicks go out, run around and then go back under the hen to warm up. I would think with enough bedding in the nest, she'd be able to keep the eggs warm enough to hatch.

Will I need to give the chicks any shots or can they remain free from any vacs?

There is no reason to give your chicks shots. I've had chickens for almost 30 years and have never vaccinated anything hatched on our place.

Will I have to separate the mother and babies from the rest of the birds until they are larger?

Many experienced chicken keepers here on BYC let the hens hatch and raise their babies within the flock. Personally, I've never had good luck letting them incubate their eggs with the other chickens around. I always ended up with broken eggs because the other hens would try to get in the nest and lay their eggs. So I separate the broody from the rest of the flock, let them hatch out and then integrate them when the chicks are a few days to a week or so old. That way the mama is still protective and the babies are more easily accepted into the flock. I've seen the rooster come between an aggressive hen and the mama hen, protecting the mama. Last year my rooster "babysat" the chicks while the hen was out dust bathing. I also lost a hen to a raccoon this summer. She had five babies - less than a month old - that were orphaned, but because they had already been integrated into the flock, they did just fine. Hung out kind of by themselves, but with the older chickens enough to have the benefit of "safety in numbers".

Thanks in advance...