Hi,
Nothing to do with dogs just chicks. We have 1 free range chicken that has been very broody and tends to spend most of her time in one of the goats hay racks. We keep taking her out and putting her with the others to feed, but next minute she is back in the hay rack. This morning when we lifted her out there was a live chick beneath her and when looking in greater depth we saw there were other eggs deep inside the hay. We have put her back on top the chick, but as this was not something we have ever thought about ( breeding) we are not sure what to do.
What do chicks eat, do they have to be separated from the other chickens for safety. As it is Sunday we have no idea how to handle this re food and where to put them.
Please are there any chicken people out there that can advise us.

Firstly, I'd take the "mother" chicken out of the hay rack, along with the hatched chick and the other eggs and put her somewhere safe. Do you have an unused shed? Failing that, in the past I've used a dog crate with a cat box inside for shelter (it's essential they have somewhere dry), just make sure the chicks can't get out through the bars. This can be put onto grass. Ensure you have a shallow dish for water (too deep and the chicks can drown) and you need to get some chick crumbs for them to eat (Mum can eat these too). If you can't find a feed supplier until tomorrow crush up some pellets until you can. As long as the chick(s) are with the hen you won't need any extra heat.

HTH

Many thanks Pedlee,
Getting the brain into gear instead of the original blind panic. We have got a horse box/trailer that is about as rat proof as possible, heavy metal with a side door for access and a window for more light ( we have a shed we could use but we have a rat problem as they get everywhere) the top half of the back door/ramp is open for air but it is dry and warm inside. We think this will be the best place to move them to. We have chicken pellets and layers mash, so thanks for the advice as we were not sure if we could use this. The grandchildren are running around looking for suitable containers for water and food, we certainly didn't expect this when we got up this morning. Once everything is ready then we will move the mum and chicks/eggs as quickly as poss. The hayrack is quite high off the ground so if the chick moves around too much it will have a nasty fall that will probably kill it, so we are working as fast as we can ( well son in law is, I am making tea !!!) hey ho another day in the life of country folk..........

with the container for water if you haven't got a proper narrow lipped drinker wash some pebbles and put those in the drinker dish so as if the chick falls in it cannot drown/get soaking wet.

If you can get chick crumbs asap that will be better. There is something in them that isn't in layers pellets, but something is better than nothing.

This link may be useful (http://www.poultryclub.org/ACHatch.htm)

What breed is mum?

What breed is mum?

Not sure, they were rescue battery hens, all I can say is 'brown' !!!

What about "dad" then?

I've got some ex-bats too, as well as a lone Silkie who is almost constantly broodie!

Good luck, and keep us posted on any more hatchings.

good standby for surprise poultry.
Boiled egg mashed with a few moist bread crumbs. This is the first feed for all my poultry, and I often feed it to a sitting hen. Then chick crumbs which are never popular with mine I then go onto growers and seek out a few worms.
If you have a persistant broody, the only way to stop it, seems hard I know, put her in a dog cage raised off the ground she will be uncomfortable but soon stop.
Don't all shout at me

All moved to trailer successfully, we transferred from hay rack to plastic dog bed complete with eggs and hay as undisturbed as poss and with mum on top  and left them in the dog bed in the trailer. Added stable wood chip and straw to floor with layers for food ( until tomorrow) and water. Now we will leave them to settle and just pop in the side door to change water and food as needed.

Re 'dad' he was a rescue we picked up when my daughter was going to the rescue centre to pick up 3 ferral cats for our rat problem. We came out with the 3 cats, 1 boxer dog and a cockerel.  The cats prefer rabbit and pigeon to rats so are useless but we see them sunning themselves in the distance, so appear to be content. The boxer is wonderful and an important part of the family and the cock strutts around full of himself.
I can't imagine life without animals and will keep you updated with any more hatchings.
Thanks for the support and advice

Hi sillysue, you can serve up weetabix softened in water if you need to, ditto the chick crumb. The chicks don't need to eat on day 1 (they will still be fuelled by the yolk), but make sure they have water and feed at hand and that they learn how to eat and drink. White wood shavings (not cedar) are best in the nest area. The hen can eat the chick crumb too, or you can put her feed in a big margarine tub (chicks can't reach over the edge to eat it and mine love the corn and grain with their pellet.

I have a few broody hens at the moment, their first hatching--two silkie sussex (the pterodactyl sisters) and a little black rosecomb. the rosecomb and one of the PS are sharing a nest box and have commandeered at least 14 eggs between them. The eggs are from Warrens, Welsummers, a couple of rosecombs, Dutch bantams...you name it! Yesterday one of the PS hatched two Welsummers and a rosecomb--comical really, the rosecomb is a tiny little sooty number the size of a very small mouse, about half the size of the welsummer chicks with their go-faster stripes. She still has about 8 eggs, which won't hatch now. Not one of them is her own egg--but silkies are mad brooders who will adopt/steal any egg and my silkie cockerel adores "his" chicks.

I've moved them all out of the main hen house to a "nursery pen" and my silkie cockerel is moping outside. Praying we don't end up with a ton of baby cockerels...enjoy your little ones!

The joys of hens :)!

At what age is it safe for the chicks to be let out with the other free range chickens without fear of being pecked to bits. I know it's very early days but am interested in knowing how long they need to be shut away with mum. They have quite a bit of room in the horse trailer, but obviously at some stage it would be nice for them to be free outside with mum. I assume mum will also teach them to go into the safe chicken roost at night time as well, or is that instinct and not teaching?
When I learnt about the birds and bees it didn't include chickens !

They do grow pretty quickly, but I've only let them mix with the others when they are practically fully grown and I've found some "go to bed" automatically while others need a bit of a helping hand for a couple of days.

Hi sillysue, here is the no-help answer...it depends! On the character/breed of the birds, for example. I have a mix of large breed and bantam birds (Welsummer, Light Sussex, silkie, Warren, Leghorn, Dutch bantam and black rosecomb) and  for years I didn't separate the hens and chicks from the others--there were no casualties, but then my silkie cockerel is a very sweet, proud and helpful father. My Light Sussex cockerel is a huge bird, but he is a kindly bird and never minded chicks skipping about under him. My Warrens however are less pleasant birds with a strong cannibal instinct (not my choice to have them, they escaped from some other hobby keeper and spent days outside mine wanting to get in with my birds, I didn't have the heart to make them go home) and I wouldn't trust them with very young chicks.

I started separating hens and chicks last year simply because the pen got much larger, I had a lot more birds (including call ducks) and I had the space. The easiest thing to do is use strong cane or lightweight posts to support a temporary pen using a short roll of small gauge Netlon--I make mine out of leftovers, and they can easily be dismantled and re-erected as needed.

The chicks can easily be kept in for a couple of weeks in the horsebox and if your hen is an ex-batttery bird all that space will feel like luxury to her. You can pen them out after that but make sure they have a safe space to run back into--building a temporary enclosure at the back of the horsebox would be perfect.

Give them 2 weeks in the horsebox, then gradually introduce them with a temporary enclosure for 2 weeks and at a month old they should be fine for holding their own.

you either let them take their chance free range and let nature take its course or move mum and chicks after hatching to a broody coop and feed/water them for a few weeks

Any more new arrivals?

Hi,
It looks like it may be an only child as up until this morning no more have hatched although mum is eating with the chick and then going back to the eggs. Glad for any advice here, but from reading the internet I understand that any eggs not hatched within about 4 days from the first chick will probably not hatch ( is this right ? ) so as first was 'panic Sunday' then perhaps we should leave her till Thurs/Fri before removing the other eggs. Chick has little brownish stripes down her/his body. Aah bless !

If you fill a bowl with warm water you can float the eggs in it; eggs with live chicks near to hatching will wobble about in the water as the chick moves; others will stay still. You can also 'candle' them - take them into a very dark cupboard and hold a bright lightbulb or torch behind them and vaguely see what's inside.

hi sillysue, I've had to chuck 8 unhatched eggs over into the field today--they were never going to hatch, although they were certainly full of chick :( and I figure at least this way the magpies and other scavengers get a great meal...the trouble is that hens are happy to steal each others' eggs, but hatching is a bit pot luck that way. I think 4 days is stretching it--once the hen starts getting off the nest to show the chicks what to do the remaining eggs cool down and the chicks don't survive that kind of fluctuation in temperature/humidity, they just end up dead in shell. I'd get rid of the other eggs, your hen will be very happy with the chick she has. The last of my hen's eggs actually did hatch 2 days later, but the poor thing never made it fully out of the shell and the cannibalistic Warrens were already eyeing it up for tea by the time |I got there.

Hope the baby is thriving--two of mine are brown striped (Welsummer) and one tiny black baby (black rosecomb)--none of them belong to the mother but she is thrilled to bits :). I've got another two sharing a nest box and doing their best to cover at least 15 eggs between them, and another black rosecomb that's at least found a sensible nest for herself. At this rate we'll have about three laying hens out of a bird population of 20+.

> none of them belong to the mother but she is thrilled to bits :-)

I don't really know why, but that did make me laugh. :-D

Before I got the hens I hadn't realised broody hens were so egg-happy they'd pinch each others and rear each others' broods--we get some very odd little parades from time to time. When the bantams try to hatch the Welsummer eggs it's like watching the princess and the pea :)

Wouldn't be without my birds!

We were at one of these country centre places once and there were two ducklings in a nest - one was big with brown and fawn stripes, the other was a tiny yellow one - it lokked very odd so I guess ducks do the same :-D

It looks like it's going to remain just 1 chick as mum has left the nest and spending all her time with her 1 chick.
We have been to the pet shop and spent out on chick safe water feeders and food containers. Next week we are going to make a large frame with netlon on all sides so the chick can get used to going onto grass with mum and still be safe from the other chickens. All this upheaval for 1 chick - who said animal lovers are mad !!!!!

You can bet your bottom dollar the "only child" will be a cockeral!!!

The bug has well and truly bit, sillysue...let's hope it's a hen and not a cockerel!

How wonderful, another chick has just emerged from mums feathers, slightly younger but still same colouring ( brown stripy fluff) so we now have 2 chicks to share all the fancy things we have bought, it's quite exciting wondering if any more will turn up and to think we nearly threw the eggs yesterday, so we may give it another day or so. We doubt they are all hers as before we knew she was really hatching eggs we kept taking her out of the hay rack to feed and I am sure some other chickens whipped in to lay eggs and then ran off leaving her more to sit on
Bug has really bitten now !!!

brilliant result! it's great the way they sit hidden in mum's wings, I have to smile when the tiny black chick gets shaken out of bed :)