Hatched egg, now what?

[ECiesielczyk]

Hello!

I am a little new to eggs. Our Jersey Giant went broody and so I bought a fertilized egg from a friend and stuck it under her (in the coop). Well it hatched this monring! I put out fresh water and starter for them. The Black Jersy Giant is the dominant chicken in my flock but she doesn't peck at me when I checked on her egg regularly. Do we need to separate them from the toher chickens? Is there anything I need to do? All the chickens laid eggs today in another nest but as I said, I have never done this before so I am not sure what it is I need to do. We don't have a rooster. Any advice before the chickens come in to sleep for the night?

Thanks,
Elizabeth

 

[cochins1088]

The beautiful thing about Broodys is that you don't need to do much of anything. Just supply them with food and water, mom will take care of them. You should separate if you notice problems such as the others not accepting the chick at all and picking on it. With my experience, this rarely happens and the mother would do fine with all of the other chickens. They all know that those are her chicks and not to mess with them, the roosters even sometimes help raise them. I do however have to separate mine, my coop is a huge dog kennel in the barn (6 by 24 feet) so the chicks can get out and I have some dogs that would love to make a tasty treat of them. So it's depends on your situation a little, but if your asking if she'll be okay with the other chickens, then the answer is yes.

 

[ECiesielczyk]

Thanks for your reply. I was seeing a lot of people saying they need to be separated but that's not really an option. I don't want the others to kill her though.

Our coop is raised up so if the baby gets out the door, she has a 3 foot drop Not sure if the mother will keep her safe or not but I don't have any where to separate them to. They have their nest on the ground of the coop though.

 

[sck279]

The hen will protect the chick if the other hens do start to pick at the chick a bit. This usually sorts out in the first day...wouldn't worry. I always add some electrolyte to the water to help out the chicks. Good luck and enjoy your new little one!

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

They should be fine, especially if momma is the top of pecking order.