Chicks

[nashyboi]

Hello, I have a broody hen. And I’m getting chicks today. Is it a good idea to put them under her or put them in the brooder.

 

[ilovemybabychickies]

Hello! Last year we let our two hens hatch their own babies, in the end they where kind of skittish and a little mean. I think that if you want chickens that you can hold and pet I would do the brooder, but if your fine with just your hen raising them than that's fine too! I personally prefer keeping them in the brooder just so they can see my face and I can hold them a lot. I hope you found this helpful!

Warmly,
ilovemybabychickies

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hello, I have a broody hen. And I’m getting chicks today. Is it a good idea to put them under her or put them in the brooder.

Hi.

How long has your hen been broody for already and where are you getting the chicks from, or rather how old are they?

I usually like to put chicks into a brooder and make sure they're eating and drinking and then tuck them under the hen shortly after dark so she can feel and hear them throughout the night and talk with them to be familiar by daylight and give her a chance to adjust some.

Some broodies will teach their chicks that you are a source of good things.. but the first posters experience has also been true.

 

[nashyboi]

Hi.

How long has your hen been broody for already and where are you getting the chicks from, or rather how old are they?

I usually like to put chicks into a brooder and make sure they're eating and drinking and then tuck them under the hen shortly after dark so she can feel and hear them throughout the night and talk with them to be familiar by daylight and give her a chance to adjust some.

Some broodies will teach their chicks that you are a source of good things.. but the first posters experience has also been true.

Ok thank you for the info!

 

[nashyboi]

Hello! Last year we let our two hens hatch their own babies, in the end they where kind of skittish and a little mean. I think that if you want chickens that you can hold and pet I would do the brooder, but if your fine with just your hen raising them than that's fine too! I personally prefer keeping them in the brooder just so they can see my face and I can hold them a lot. I hope you found this helpful!

Warmly,
ilovemybabychickies

Ok then sounds like I'll be doing the brooder, thank you!

 

[FlockVillemaire]

As a 2-year newbie I'm attempting a modified combo to expand my flock of 8 amazing, mostly Heritage mixed flock of hens. I succeeded in placing 6 new day-old chicks (including at least one cockerel for safety & sustainability!) at their first night under my virginal, yet 2-week intensely BROODY 2-year old Olive Egger "Livvie". Two fell behind a too high nest barrier, so I brought them in under the heat lamp brooder and then succeeded in returning them the next night. She is fiercely defending them all and doing the hard work of training them exactly what is good to eat and where to access all the best parts of their pasture and where to hide from hawks, my only current apparent predator risk under a broad tree cover (after a few days safest protecting in their Broody Cabinet enclosure in the small protected run I have vastly expanded.) None of my other hens will get near them, and even the 1-year old semi-feral, WELL-FED kittens are leaving them alone, too! Health benefits are supposed to be very high with a real mother hen, but every day, despite her intense disapproval, I handle each of them at least twice so I will hopefully be able to do health checks as they mature and perhaps they will appreciate my attentions as they grow up!

This is obviously my first attempt, so a complete experiment. Wish me luck!