Options for Broody Hen Raising Chicks in Coop

[NatJ]

Chick hasn't eaten or drank yet. Should I go ahead and move them with the eggs today so chick can start doing that? I put some water out right near the nest but haven't seen either of them come out to drink.

Chicks absorb the yolk right before they hatch, so they can usually go for about 3 days without eating and drinking. That is helpful in cases like this one, where the early chick needs to wait for the later ones.

Putting food and water near the nest will not be harmful, but there's no need to worry if the chick just ignores it.

And what's the best thing to do with the eggs? Mama is still sitting on them but if I move them, I'm not sure she will continue to sit. She keeps shooing the baby back inside her wings. I do have a heat lamp I can put on them and put them in a cooler or something to keep them warm if needed. No more broodies though.

Can you leave her where she is for another day or so, before trying to move her? That might work best. If eggs are actively hatching, hopefully she will stay put while they do. After they all hatch, it should be fine to move her to the tractor, because chicks can peep if they are cold and run to the hen when she calls (which eggs obviously cannot do.)

Other than that, yes you could try to keep eggs warm without the hen, if she won't sit in the new place, but it is much more bother to try and get the conditions right. They need the right temperature (not too hot or too cold) and they also need enough humidity (so the membrane inside the shell does not dry out and stick to the chick while it hatches.)

Mama had moved to the next nest for some reason and was sitting on newly laid eggs. I moved her back to the nest with the baby and she's been there ever since. I keep checking on her and the baby and the eggs. No pips or anything but since she never leaves, it's hard to really check the eggs.

Good idea to make sure she is still on the correct nest, but I would not try to check underneath her. I think it is best to leave her undisturbed as much as you can right now.

Since I really feel like there's no way to keep her and the chick separated from the rest in the coop where they are, I have fixed up our chicken tractor and I'm going to put that inside the run, partially under the coop and move her in there with her eggs and the chick. I'll make sure it's fully covered at night. It's not completely predator proof (there's no bottom) but inside the run it should be fine and covered up they should stay safe.

That sounds like a good idea, but I would probably try to wait until the other eggs finish hatching (if they are going to.) That would mean leaving the hen where she is for another day or two.

Attached a picture. I think this may be a barred rock chick but if it is, it's most likely male because it has a BR mom and an Orpington dad. I really hope we get some more chicks so we can keep some! (can't have roosters here. )

I agree that chick looks like it will be black with white barring. If the mother is Barred Rock and the father is any Orpington color without barring, I agree that would mean it is a male.

 

[tori729]

Thanks, that's helpful! I offered mama some food and water today since she's not leaving the nest. Noticed one egg had somehow escaped the nest and was in the run. It smelled rotten and sounded liquidy inside so I'm assuming it just never started forming. We are at day 21 with no more chicks, four eggs left.
I have to admit we have been checking on her a TON since the chick hatched because everyone wants to see it. Plus, I want to make sure she's staying on the nest. How much longer do we wait for more eggs?
If we only end up with one baby, should I try and find some more for her so the baby has some buddies?

 

[NatJ]

How much longer do we wait for more eggs?

Maybe try candling them after dark tonight. Candling is easier in the dark, and that way you won't have to carry the eggs somewhere else that is dark. A small bright flashlight, or the light on some cell phones, can work well.

First candle an egg you know is not developing (like one of the ones laid today). Then for each each egg under the hen, if you pick it up and it peeps, put it back. If it doesn't peep, try candling it. An egg about ready to hatch should have a big aircell in one end (light shines through this easily) and the rest of the egg will look completely dark (no light shines through.) The dark area is about 2/3 or 3/4 of the whole egg.

If you find an egg where light shines through it the same way light shines through your never-incubated egg, that egg did not develop and can be removed. Crack it open the next day to reassure yourself that it really did not have a chick inside. (Crack it outside, because it may semll.)

If you are unsure about any egg, give it a sniff. Rotten eggs do not usually have healthy chicks inside!

If you find an egg that looks like it has a chick ready to hatch, put it back under the hen and give it a day or two. It might hatch by then, or something might happen to make it clear that it won't hatch.

If you don't want to try candling, maybe give each egg a sniff, then put back any that do not smell rotten, and leave them until the hen chooses to come off the nest with the chick.

If we only end up with one baby, should I try and find some more for her so the baby has some buddies?

A chick raised completely alone can have problems, because it doesn't learn to interact with other chickens. A chick raised by a hen does not have that trouble, because the hen teaches the chick how to act like a chicken. So it does not really need other chicks while being raised by the hen.

At some point the hen will quit acting like a mother, and will leave the chick to fend for itself. At that point, the chick is too young to be comfortable with adult members of the flock, so it will probably spend time alone, mostly away from the older birds. If there are several chicks of the same age, they will stick together during this time, which is nicer for them (not so lonely.) So that would be a reason to get more chicks now, so they will be together when the hen abandons them. Some hens only care for their chicks for 3 weeks or so, others keep it up for another month, and occasionally a hen with just one pullet chick will never get around to kicking her out (so they hang out together and roost together until the pullet is fully grown.) I don't know of any way to predict what your specific hen will do.

You said you cannot keep a rooster. So if you already know this chick is a male, you could just just make plans to rehome it when the hen is tired of raising it. If you have the new home lined up, it will be easy to move him at that point. That would mean you do not need any other chicks to keep this one company. (Or if you prefer to butcher males instead of rehoming, you can butcher at that point. Chickens are edible at any age and any size.)

If you do choose to get more chicks, think about whether to get sexed females, or take your chances with straight run (which could mean more males to rehome). If you are adding pullets to your flock, it is generally better to add 2 or 3 rather than just one. You could even get sexed males and plan on butchering them all, if you like to raise your own chicken meat.

Some hens are picky about what color chicks they have. A hen with a black chick is more likely to accept other black chicks. Then again, some hens do not care, and will happily take chicks of all colors.

 

[tori729]

Ok I tried candling them but I feel like I'm awful at it lol. There were 1-2 that looked like they may have a chick in them with the air cell but nothing was very clear. One smelled a bit but none of them smelled that much.

I think it would be nice to have a few more chicks. My kids were really looking forward to raising some chicks since our original eight were 6 weeks when we got them. I'm trying to find some pullets locally b/c I don't want to pay for roosters so we will see.

Interesting about the chick color, I'll have to keep that in mind. I really don't want to brood the chicks myself if I get some more but we would love to have some EEs or OEs, something different.

 

[NatJ]

Ok I tried candling them but I feel like I'm awful at it lol. There were 1-2 that looked like they may have a chick in them with the air cell but nothing was very clear. One smelled a bit but none of them smelled that much.

In that case, I would probably wait another day or two and see whether any hatch. When you do give up, I would suggest you candle again and then crack the eggs open to see what is inside. Doing that helped me to be more confident the next time.

I think it would be nice to have a few more chicks. My kids were really looking forward to raising some chicks since our original eight were 6 weeks when we got them. I'm trying to find some pullets locally b/c I don't want to pay for roosters so we will see.

Interesting about the chick color, I'll have to keep that in mind. I really don't want to brood the chicks myself if I get some more but we would love to have some EEs or OEs, something different.

Locally does sound easier.

But if that doesn't work, you might be able to order them online. Some hatcheries have quit for the year, some are hatching a reduced set of breeds, and some are running sales because the chicks are hatching faster than people are buying them.

Many hatcheries ship on Monday or Tuesday, so placing an order on Friday or Saturday could have chicks arriving next week. It's a little iffy to give a hen chicks a week later than hers hatched than hers hatched, but some hens definitely will accept them. Putting one small chick with a bunch of big chicks is a recipe for trouble, because the little one gets stepped on or bullied. Putting a group of small chicks with one big chick is often fine, assuming the hen accepts them or you raise them in a brooder.

Unfortunately, individual hens can be very different in how they react to things. Some hens will happily accept a group of other-colored chicks a week later than their first one, while others will have nothing to do with those intruders, and some are sort-of in between (they might accept certain colors of chicks only, or need a more careful introduction, or something of the sort.) I once had a hen that accepted new chicks on several occasions over about three weeks. The youngest didn't do as well, because they needed more warmth and had trouble keeping up with the big ones, but they did surivive and the hen did not hurt them. She just didn't wait when they couldn't keep up, or stop to warm them every time they got cold. I have no idea how common such hens are.

 

[tori729]

Went to look at hatcheries but the shipping is WAY too much. I wouldn't want more than six chicks so I'm going to explore TS and local farm stores.

 

[NatJ]

Went to look at hatcheries but the shipping is WAY too much. I wouldn't want more than six chicks so I'm going to explore TS and local farm stores.

Different hatcheries have different prices, but overall I agree

I'm assuming you did look at McMurray hatchery? I think it is less-bad than some of the others I've looked at, although still pretty expensive.

 

[tori729]

So we found some chicks at TS today! We got four and I plan to put them under her tonight after dark.
She's starting to come out of the nest with the baby so I put some food in there for them. I'm still trying to decide if I should just leave her in the coop with the chicks but I don't want the other chickens to eat the chick food so maybe I just need to pull it out at night and put back later so they don't eat it.
My makeshift cage isn't the best and she's safer in the coop.

 

[NatJ]

So we found some chicks at TS today! We got four and I plan to put them under her tonight after dark.

That's great news!

I don't want the other chickens to eat the chick food so maybe I just need to pull it out at night and put back later so they don't eat it.

Why don't you want the other chickens eating the chick food?

 

[tori729]

That's great news!


Why don't you want the other chickens eating the chick food?

Because they need to use up their layer feed so I can change to all flock. And because I don't have a ton of chick food at the moment.

So I put the chicks in with River last night. She seemed pretty aware of it all but she happily tucked them under her wings and she is scratching around the coop today with them all. It's so sweet! My kids really loved having the chicks inside for the evening and are a bit sad that they are now being raised by a hen instead of them, ha! But River is a great mom and lets us hold the chicks. They took to her immediately. For now, they are hanging out in the coop with food and water. I keep going back and forth on whether I should move them. I feel like she might be keeping the other chooks from laying their eggs so if I notice a drop in egg production I'll move her.

I ended up cracking the eggs. Three of them busted open rotten. One of them just looked normal with a yolk, so not sure what that all means. Maybe it was too hot for them?