more chicken Qs

tryingtobegreen

Hi All

My pekin bantum is broody. 1 of the fellows at the allotment gave me 6 fertile eggs yesterday, my broody has been sitting on them since this morn. the hens the eggs came from were x bats.

Q1 will my pekin accept them when hatched or am i wasting my time
Q2 i have one of those coops that have a ramp, the ramp is not very high its about 50cms high. will the poss chicks not fall out and die?
Q3 ive been given an eglu, not seen it yet so dont no if its eglu or cube eglu can the broody and eggs go in that?

I have seperated the broody and eggs into seperate coop and run away form the other 2 pekins but should i be doing anything else?

many many thanks for the advise i hope to get

choille

Congrats - hope she sits on them successfully. She'll be fine & will be a proud mum if they hatch - which they should. You are wise to seperate her. Just provide clean water & feed.
A hen will sit on & accept ducklings - although they get a bit freaked out when they go into ponds!
You should just leave her be. I wouldn't attempt to try moving her into a new house as she may abandon her eggs.
Lucky you being given an eglu - that'll come in handy, but wouldn't move your hen until she's hatched her brood in about 21 days.

Lotus-eater

Q1 She will be fine.
Q3 Either would be perfect.

Q2 When I have done it before I have placed the broody in a ground level coop, as I want the chicks to be able to follow her around.
It worries me a bit that you have such a high coop for them, as they hatch at different times and the broody may come out of the house with a couple of chicks before they are all hatched and it sounds like the chicks may not be able to get back in.
I'm not positive, as I haven't been in that position, I hope someone who knows about chicks getting into high houses advises you. But it would worry me.

If I wanted to move the broody and eggs, I would do it while she was out eating and drinking, then quickly move the eggs into the new house, then when she comes back in, quickly move her as well. Minimum of fuss and noise. I have to say I haven't done it, but I have done things very similar.

tryingtobegreen

thanks for the replys.
yes im the proud owner of a red eglu.:j:j:j
going back to the wooden coop, broody and eggs.:o

the broody does not leave the coop, or at least i have not seen her and im out all the time due to a 9wk old lab pup, my chickens and a leeky pond with frog tadpoles.
so,, ive put food and water inside the coop, should i take it out?

the run to the wooden coop is really rubbish for chicks as the holes r to big. can i put the broody an (hopefully) newly hatched chicks in the eglu as is on the floor with run that will be perfect for baby chicks.

i realise the chicks might hatch a day or 2 apart so i thought may 16 (due to hatch may 18) put a couple of inch of wood across the coop opening. not to high so the hen cant get out but high enough to hopefully stop newly hatched chicks

advise please
ive tried google but cant find the answer to ALL my Qs

Lotus-eater

I always used to encourage my broodys to get up at least once a day to eat and drink, otherwise they just waste away, some do it as std, some don't.
I put the food outside, as it gives me time to check the eggs, as I usually have to give the broody a shove to get her up.

I can't advise on the bit of wood, but if you have a big enough coop, it may be worth keeping the hen and chicks inside it till they all hatch and then move them to the low coop and run.

tryingtobegreen

thanks lotus eater. ill go take the food and water out of the coop and put them in the run. Then like u said give her a shove even tho when i tried it yestterday she got really angry and started pecking at me and making a funny noise. The noise in chicken talk was "get off me" so i did.:D

and yes i think the coop is big enough to shut her in for a couple of days at hatching time. it housed 6 bantums quite nicely so a hen and hopefully 6 baby chicks should be fine.
thank u once again

choille

I'd leave her - If she wants food & water then she'll go out for it, some hardly do at all, they shut down completely, almost go into a trance-like state.

If you could get some green mesh - sort you use for wind breaks & make a run that ties in with the house, or go around the run with a length of it - then they'll be secure. If you try & let hen out, but not the chicks, they will get a bit stressed trying to follow her.
Chicks don't eat for a day or two after hatching, but give them a mashed up boiled egg for a while when they start eating & water that they won't drown in - a shallow saucer filled up will do. Don't leave a normal sized water feeder about - they can get their heads stuck in it. You also get chick crumbs for when they are hatched & eating. I also make up saps - bead & milk.

milliemonster

Can anyone tell me as I have chickens myself, what makes a hen go broody and how do you know if you have a broody hen? sorry if these are dumb questions

choille

Hen's get the notion to sit on their eggs in order to get chicks. It is usually the weather that dictates it - happens when it gets a bit warmer. But many hens have had broodiness bred out of them ie battery hens. Some hens are really prone to broodiness ie Silkies, & some people keep that breed to sit on fertilised eggs.

Some hens go into hiding - have laid a nest of eggs secretly & she'll disappear to sit on them when she feels she's laid as many as she can hatch out, cover & she's got the notion to have chicks.
But as I say, some hens never get the notion.

You'll know if a hen's gone broody as it will just keep sitting on the eggs & only leave the nest for very short periods, usually just once a day to feed & get a drink of water. Hen's can go broody without a cockeral - therefore she'll sit on unfertilised eggs to no avail.

I have a hen sitting at the moment, but most of the eggs aren't hers - she's sitting on a nest that a few of my hens have each laid eggs in, so that'll be interesting.
.

tryingtobegreen

choille thats really exciting isnt it or am i just sad?
im counting the days down till may 18th when i really really really hope my pekin has not been wasting her time sat on a load of unfertilised eggs..
Little yellow fluffy chicks, my 1 and 3yr old are going to just love them.

choille

It's great the guy gave you fertilised eggs. They may not all hatch - that's just the way of it, but you should get some. It is exciting & really great for kids to see.
My chicks will be a mix of little bumble bee coloured ones & Yellow - due to the breed.
What gets me is that you can keeep fetilised eggs in the fridge for weeks & then 'sit' them when you have a hen going broody for example. And even though the eggs could be laid weeks apart, once the hen starts sitting on them & the temperature is maintained, they will all hatch roughly at the same time.

Remember you will get cockerels hatch as well as females............ususally 50%!