Winter Broody Hen and Raising Chicks

[Jedi Clampett]

I have a broody BO hen that is on day 11 of sitting on 10 eggs. It's dipping below 10 degrees most nights and spring is still very far off. Will she be able to keep them warm enough to survive when they hatch? Would love to hear what others have to say and hear any other advise/tips that you have to share about raising chicks in the winter. Thank you in advance!

 

[Alaskan]

I let my duck set on some eggs when it was almost that cold, and this is what I learned:

1. reduce the number of eggs to a number that she can FULLY cover

2. When they start to hatch you MUST be there since if she decides they are all hatched she will not sit quite as tight and any late hatchers will freeze. I had two, almost three that died halfway out of their shells simply because they were a day later than the rest.

3. Since it is winter, you will need a good sheltered place for them to grow up. My ducklings got the chicken coop, and when they were a bit older they got the greenhouse.

Other than that, it worked much more smoothly than I thought it would.

I set up a heat lamp over the feed and water after the babies hatched, and mama duck took care of the rest.

 

[Jedi Clampett]

Thank you Alaskan. Glad to hear it can be done. She covers the eggs very well so I'm not too worried about that. I'm gone during the day so I don't know if I'll be around, guess I'll just hope for the best. They have a pretty secure house (and an area where they can be separated from the others) so maybe the heat lamp will take care of the cold. Thanks for your input!!