How do hens feed their babies

[dskowron]

Our coop is 4 x 8 feet with three 12"x12" nest boxes that protrude from the back of the coop. I do not place feed or water in the coop because that attracts mice, and the grackles figured that out almost instantly and would raid the coop for the feed. I have feeders and waterers outside and this setup has worked well for me for years. When we get new chicks I have a brooder for them out in my shop and after the babies are old enough I introduce them to the rest of the flock in the normal fashion - works well. Now we have a rooster and he's doing his job nicely. If I was to have a broody hen and she were to hatch some eggs, how would that work out? How would she feed them? Would she take over one of the egg boxes for her brood? I'm a bit lost on this topic so thank you in advance for any insight you may be able to provide.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Our coop is 4 x 8 with three 12x12 nest boxes that protrude from the back of the coop. I do not place feed or water in the coop because that attracts mice, and the grackles figured that out almost instantly and would raid the coop for the feed. I have feeders and waterers outside and this setup has worked well for me for years. When we get new chicks I have a brooder for them out in my shop and after the babies are old enough I introduce them to the rest of the flock in the normal fashion - works well. Now we have a rooster and he's doing his job nicely. If I was to have a broody hen and she were to hatch some eggs, how would that work out? How would she feed them? Would she take over one of the egg boxes for her brood? I'm a bit lost on this topic so thank you in advance for any insight you may be able to provide.

The hen doesn’t feed the chicks she simply shows them where the food is and they follow her when she goes to eat. If she broods make sure she is on ground level and she will lead the chicks to the food from there. One thing to consider is your flock dynamics. You may need to fence off a small partition to separate the broody hen with her chicks to keep the other chickens from killing them. Which in that case you would need to put food inside the partition with her.

 

[dskowron]

The hen doesn’t feed the chicks she simply shows them where the food is and they follow her when she goes to eat. If she broods make sure she is on ground level and she will lead the chicks to the food from there. One thing to consider is your flock dynamics. You may need to fence off a small partition to separate the broody hen with her chicks to keep the other chickens from killing them. Which in that case you would need to put food inside the partition with her.

Ok thanks! This tells me that I will continue to raise the chicks how I'm doing it. I want to hatch some of our eggs so I'll do that manually.