Where to let my broody raise chicks?

[amerzshaw]

I have a blue laced red Wyandotte hen who has been broody for at least a couple weeks now. I'm getting a shipment of 4 chicks this week, so I wanted to see if she would adopt them. I usually have a huge Tupperware bin set up in the house with a heat lamp as a brooder, so I thought about just moving the broody hen in there with the chicks, sans heat lamp. I also have a small coop I could move them to, but I would have to keep them out of the run at first so they didn't tumble down the ramp, and it might be too small. I could also try moving them into the coop with the broody hen and closing them up in the hen house, but then I would have to put a different option in the run as a nest box for the other hens. Any suggestions on what I should plan to do? Thank you!

 

[WVduckchick]

I wouldn't bring her inside with them. She can keep them plenty warm outside. If the adoption is successful, they will not need a heat lamp.

I let my girls raise chicks right with the rest of the flock, but you always have to watch initially that the others don't hurt the chicks. Momma usually protects them very well, and 4 will be an easy number for her to manage. A small wired off section (small dog cage?) on the floor of your run would be sufficient for a few days for introduction. You will be surprised how quickly they can learn to go up and down a ramp too (especially if its solid, not a ladder type with wide rungs)
I sometimes help chicks up the ramp and check them nightly until they get the hang of it, but usually a few evenings is all it takes.

 

[clamccauley]

It's hard to visualize, but I agree about not bringing them inside. She will keep them warm and will likely be more comfortable outside.

I just introduced 10 to my broody hen this weekend. We gave her the chicks in a large dog kennel and then moved her later the next day to her new home away from the rest of the flock. She's in an enclosed nesting box with a door and ramp down to the run where the food and water is. We can close the door at night so no chicks get separated on accident. This morning, I opened the hatch and 3 of the chicks came right on out and down the ramp which seemed steep with large rungs to me! I was prepared to help, but then momma popped out and the rest followed slowly behind. I will likely have to help them back up the ramp but assume they will catch on quicker than I thought!

I've never tried starting them out with the broody hen with the flock, but mine free range all day. I always keep the new ones penned up for a few days and only let them out in the beginning when I can help watch the babies and I didn't know how I would do that in a shared coop. A pen I used last year was only 4 foot by maybe 6 foot with enough height for a few perches. Once I had a nesting area and food and water in there it seemed pretty small, but with 4-5 babies, she managed just fine. we'd let them out during the day after about 2-3 weeks and she would chose to go back in there at night for a while before taking them in to the bigger coop.

Does your hen house have a run? If she has a safe spot on the ground with access to food and water where she could keep her babies separate from other hens if need be, she should do fine! I'm curious to know what you did, because I thought about splitting my chicks over two broody hens and leaving on in with the older hens but talked myself out of it.

 

[amerzshaw]

Thanks for the suggestions! I think it will make sense to put them in the small starter coop. They would be separate from the other two flocks, which will work since I'm integrating older chicks into those flocks right now. The little coop has a hen house I can close off, so I can start them in there with some food and water, and then let them down into the little run after a few days. My husband will be happy to not have any more chicks in the house