Advice on broody chook, more questions!

[MuklukParticipant]

We separate ours until they are almost full size, this is mostly because of birds and things taking them. Unfortunately our strain are poor mothers and we are yet to have any successful broody raised chicks here. Our rooster is placid and generally not an issue even though he is huge but the hens can injure or kill a chick very fast.

Bron post=351321 wrote: I’m very surprised you are able to successfully hatch eggs that are a day or two off hatching. You’re not supposed to move them after day 18 cos the chicks move themselves into the proper position for hatching.

Where did you hear that Bron? Under a broody hen the eggs get turned around a fair bit by the hen even in the last few days. In an incubator eggs gets turned on hatching day by the first chicks as they hatch out and move about. Chick positioning only matters if you have a very weak breed or a breed that does not tend to survive hatching.

The day 18 thing is to do with using an incubator with an automatic turner. You switch it off just in case of early hatchlings getting a leg stuck in the turner.

[BronMember]

I read it on backyardpoultry 🙂 Maybe I mis-interpreted what I was reading.

[BradWMember]

Bron post=351321 wrote: I’m very surprised you are able to successfully hatch eggs that are a day or two off hatching. You’re not supposed to move them after day 18 cos the chicks move themselves into the proper position for hatching.

All I know is last time we got eggs for our broody, I went to the hatchery and he sold me eggs that were due to hatch the next day. Took them home (maybe 20 min drive) put them under the chook and the next day there was babies running around :shrug: .

[Lady BeeKeymaster]

Brad, is that your chicken coop/house in your avatar? Do the little ones climb the ladder OK?

I’m now thinking about what I need to provide for a little chick in with the main flock. (There are 5 hens and a rooster – all Welsummers)

The run is quite large, usual dirt floor with some mulch stuff that gets scratched through quite regularly. This is (I’m fairly sure) fox proof, but there’s the odd rodent. Within the run is a small garden shed that has been turned into a chicken house. It has a little door to get in, about the size of a dog door. Inside the shed there is a perch a couple of feet off the ground, a ladder that they climb up to get to the perch and the nest boxes. The floor of the shed has a layer of hay, which makes it easier to get the droppings out.

Our chickens are normally let out during the day to forage around the garden.

What sort of things do I need to provide for the little one?

[BradWMember]

Lady B post=351330 wrote: Brad, is that your chicken coop/house in your avatar? Do the little ones climb the ladder OK?

Yep, that’s our chook house. It’s on concrete and has wood shavings on the floor about 6″ deep and in the upper level as well.

This pic was taken when I finished building it and doesn’t have the wood shavings on the floor.

This is the upper sleeping/nesting area where the babies will spend their first few weeks.

The last time, the eggs were hatched in one of the nesting boxes. I put mesh over the little door at the top of the ramp to keep the other chook out and the babies in. The wall that the little door is in opens up for cleaning/ increased ventilation in summer. After the little ones were a couple of weeks old, I opened that wall and put a little barrier along the edge so they couldn’t fall off or access the ramp. This allowed them to start mingling with the others. Another week or so and I took away the fence at the top of the ramp and they all eventually made there way down. Once they got down the bottom, they stayed down there with mum until they were big enough to climb the ladder with more ease.

We open up the chook house every day and they have a good sized fenced area outside to roam around in.

[Author]

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