Claire Thompson
Watching a mother hen raise her chicks is a heartwarming experience, and letting a broody hen hatch and raise chicks is incredibly rewarding. Broody hens are those that want to sit on eggs and hatch them, and they make excellent surrogate mothers. If you're looking to encourage a hen and her chicks to create chicks, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, choose the right breed, as some breeds are more broody than others. Then, create a suitable environment for the mother hen to brood, ensuring it's quiet, dark, comfortable, and well-ventilated. Mark the eggs you want the hen to incubate and remove any others that other hens may lay in her nest. During the incubation period, monitor the hen daily, ensuring she has enough food and water, and being careful not to disturb her. Once the chicks hatch, the mother hen will teach them essential skills and keep them warm and protected.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Choosing a broody hen | Silkies, Cochins, Brahmas, Orpingtons, Old English Games, Kraienkoppes, Malays, Shamos, Asils, Madagascar Games, Dorking |
| Location of brooding | In a nesting box, or a new place |
| Number of eggs | 8-12, depending on the hen's size |
| Egg characteristics | Fresh, fertilized, no more than 7 days old, with a natural bloom on the shell |
| Humidity and temperature | Higher humidity and correct temperature required for hatching |
| Bonding | Begins before the chicks hatch, with soft clucking noises |
| Post-hatching | Chicks should be kept with the hen for the first 6-7 weeks, then allowed to run free |
| Food and water | Provide chick grit, starter feed, and treats like oyster shells, cabbage, and cooked eggs |
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What You'll Learn
Identify a broody hen
Identifying a broody hen is important to ensure the health and safety of your birds. Broody hens will display a range of behaviours, some of which can be subtle, while others are more obvious.
Firstly, a broody hen will spend a lot of time in the nesting box and will refuse to leave. She may only leave once or twice a day to eat and drink, and will quickly return to the nest. This behaviour can cause a disruption in egg production and collection. Broody hens will also stop laying eggs.
Secondly, you may notice that the hen's chest and belly feathers are missing or that she is plucking them out. This is a sign that she is preparing to sit on eggs. When you approach a broody hen, she may flatten her body (known as "pancaking") and refuse to put her feet down when picked up.
Thirdly, broody hens will often become agitated and protective of their nests. They may growl, squawk, or try to peck or bite you when you attempt to collect eggs or move them from the nest. Broody hens can also become aggressive towards other hens, pecking at them if they try to lay in the same nest.
Finally, broody hens will produce a large amount of smelly poop once a day when they leave the nest to eat and drink. This is because they hold their waste to avoid soiling the nest.
If you suspect your hen is broody, it is important to provide her with a separate, comfortable space to lay, as well as high-quality food to ensure she stays healthy during this time.
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Prepare the brooding area
Brooding is the period from hatching until the chicks no longer need supplemental heat, which is typically between three to eight weeks. During this time, the chicks are vulnerable to disease and cannot handle most outdoor environments.
To prepare the brooding area, it is important to create an ideal environment for the broody hen to ensure her comfort and successful incubation. Lighting fixtures can be used to provide heat and light. Heat lamps are commonly used for this purpose and can be easily adjusted by raising or lowering the lamp. It is important to ensure that lamps are hung safely to prevent fires.
The temperature of the brooding area should be maintained at around 70-80°F (21-27°C), which is slightly cooler than the average chicken's preferred temperature. This will help conserve the hen's energy as she sits on her eggs. The nesting box should be draft-free, dry, and have adequate ventilation to prevent ammonia buildup from droppings.
Additionally, it is crucial to provide the hen with a nutrient-rich diet to support the demands of incubation and chick growth. A high-quality layer feed or commercial starter feed can be supplemented with calcium, protein, and other essential nutrients. Dark leafy greens, mealworms, and crickets are excellent sources of nutrition for the hen.
When using a broody hen as a surrogate mother for store-bought chicks, it is important to ensure that the nest is in a safe location for the chicks, preferably not too high up. It is also recommended to wait about a week, leaving eggs under the hen to ensure her dedication before introducing the baby chicks.
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Provide the right environment
Providing the right environment for a hen to create chicks involves several considerations, from choosing the right breed to creating a safe and comfortable space for nesting and hatching.
Firstly, it is important to select a suitable breed of hen that is known for its broodiness. Breeds such as Silkies, Cochins, Brahmas, Orpingtons, Old English Games, Kraienkoppes, and Malays are more likely to exhibit broody behaviour.
Once you have identified a broody hen, you can encourage her to nest in a designated area, such as a nesting box or a small henhouse/coop. The nesting area should be dark, quiet, and comfortable, with fresh bedding such as pine shavings or straw. It is also important to ensure that the nesting area is safe for baby chicks, not too high off the ground, and protected from predators.
If the hen is incubating eggs, it is crucial to maintain the right temperature and humidity levels during the incubation period. In the final three days before hatching, the hen will remain dedicated to sitting on the nest, and the temperature should be higher to facilitate hatching.
To create the optimal environment for a hen to raise her chicks, it is beneficial to separate her from the flock temporarily. This allows the hen to focus on caring for her chicks without distractions and protects the chicks from older flock mates and potential predators. However, this method also requires providing separate food and water for the hen and chicks, and the hen may exhibit aggressive behaviour towards other birds that come too close.
Whether you choose to separate the hen or not, it is important to ensure that the environment is comfortable and safe for both the hen and her chicks. This includes providing adequate space, maintaining a consistent food and water supply, and regularly cleaning the area to remove any waste.
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Monitor the hen and eggs
Monitoring the hen and eggs is crucial to ensure the successful hatching and raising of chicks. Here are some detailed guidelines for this process:
Preparing the Nesting Area
Before introducing the hen to the nesting area, ensure it is set up in a safe, quiet, and dark location, preferably on the floor or a lower level to avoid any risks to the eggs and future chicks. The nesting area should be spacious and comfortable, with fresh bedding such as pine shavings, straw, or other nesting materials. If you're using a brooding pen, ensure it is sturdy and secure from predators.
Providing Dummy Eggs
Initially, provide the hen with dummy eggs or smooth stones to gauge her commitment to brooding. This step helps ensure that she is dedicated to the process before introducing actual hatching eggs or chicks. Allow her a few days to settle in and adjust to her new surroundings.
Introducing Hatching Eggs
After the hen has settled and shown dedication, you can introduce the hatching eggs. Slip the labelled eggs under the hen in the evening, ensuring they are comfortably tucked beneath her. Remove any dummy eggs at this stage. It is essential to check the hen daily and remove any non-labelled eggs that may be laid by other hens in the coop.
Observing Hen's Behaviour
During the incubation period, the hen will take short breaks to eat, drink, and stretch her legs. Ensure her food and water are always fresh and accessible. As the hatching date approaches, the hen will become more focused on her eggs, and you may notice her clucking and murmuring to her unhatched chicks. Respect her dedication and do not try to encourage her to move during the final days of incubation.
Monitoring Humidity and Temperature
Maintain optimal humidity and temperature conditions in the nesting area, especially towards hatching time. The eggs require higher humidity before hatching, and the temperature must be suitable for the chicks' arrival. A heat lamp can be installed to ensure sufficient heat during the first few weeks of the chicks' lives, starting at 90 degrees Fahrenheit and gradually decreasing.
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Let the hen raise the chicks
If you want to let a hen raise her chicks, the first step is to identify a broody hen. Not all breeds are created equal, and some are more inclined to broodiness than others. Popular broody breeds include silkies, cochins, brahmas, and orpingtons. Old English Games, Kraienkoppes, Malays, Shamos, Asils, Madagascar Games, and some strains of Dorking are also known for their broodiness.
Once you've identified a broody hen, you can give her hatching eggs or baby chicks. If you're giving her hatching eggs, make sure they are comfortable under her, with no eggs poking out. A broody hen can typically accommodate about a dozen eggs of the same size that she normally lays. If the eggs are larger, she may be able to accommodate up to 10, and if they are smaller, she may be able to fit up to 18. Odd-numbered clutches often fit well together in a nest. You can collect hatching eggs from your own flock if you have a rooster with the hens, or you can buy them locally or through mail order.
If you're giving your broody hen baby chicks, it can be a bit tricky, as she may be confused if she doesn't get to incubate the eggs first. However, some people have had success by slipping the baby chicks under the hen at night. It's important to make sure that the hen is committed to broodiness before introducing the chicks.
Once the hen has her eggs or chicks, she will do all the work of raising them. She will keep them warm, protect them, and show them where to find food and water. She will even let them turn her into a "jungle gym"! You can decide whether to keep the hen and her chicks with the flock or move them to a separate area. If you do move them, make sure to prepare the area in advance and keep them within sight of the flock so that they don't "forget" her and make it hard to reintroduce her and her chicks later.
Eventually, the hen will abandon the chicks when she decides they are old enough to take care of themselves. Before this happens, she will get them integrated into the flock, and you can expect her to have them up on the roost with the other birds. When she's ready to give them up, she may start pecking at them if they try to follow her. This is your cue to let her back with the flock if you had them separated.
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Frequently asked questions
You can't force a hen to go broody, but you can encourage her by placing her in a safe, quiet, and somewhat dark nesting box.
If you want to let your broody hen hatch chicks, place 8-12 fresh, fertilized eggs under her, depending on her size. If you want to skip the incubation process, you can buy baby chicks and place them under the hen once they are completely dry.
Mark each egg with a pencil to track any new eggs that other chickens might add to the nest. Remove any new eggs promptly to avoid overcrowding. Monitor the hen daily to ensure she has enough food and water, but minimise disturbances.
If the hatch is taking too long, a mother hen may leave her nest to care for the hatched chicks. To prevent this, you can remove her food and water to encourage her to return to her nest. If this doesn't work, you will need to remove the hatched chicks so that the mother hen can focus on the remaining eggs.
The mother hen will teach her chicks essential skills like foraging, dust bathing, and responding to danger signals. She will also keep them warm and protected. You should spend as much time as possible with the chicks during the first 6 weeks to create a strong bond and make them feel safe.
