Hatching Eggs with a Broody Hen

[Anonymous]

Hi, at the weekend I got 13 bantam eggs and a broody hen from a friend to hatch them. I have taken all the drawers out of a chest of drawers with the exception of the bottom drawer which I have put some straw in and her food and water. I have then put an old dark curtain over the top of this which I can easily lift up to check on the hen and make sure she is eating/drinking.
I have a shed at home which has been partitioned off into 2 sections with doors on with chicken wire on the front of them and at the back of this there is a cat flap (used to be used as a cattery) which is currently blocked off. This is where I have put the old chest of drawers that the broody hen is nesting in sat on the bantam eggs.

Firstly - is the drawer enough room for the hen? She will not be able to get in and out the drawer as it is about 20cms off the floor level and the if she was to get out she may struggle getting back in because of the curtain.
Then - when they hatch, will I need to put them in something bigger so there is room for the chicks to run around?

Look forward to responses!

Thanks

L

 

[snifter]

I'm not sure about your set up. I personally don't think the drawers are really suitable for a broody on eggs as she will need to be able to get in and out freely to feed, drink and poop each day. She cannot sit on the eggs the entire time. And feeding and drinking while she is sat on the eggs is not a good thing. She needs that 15 -20 minutes or so each day to get out, get some fresh air, pick some grass and food and so on before going back to her eggs. You should not be cutting off her access to the outside or her ability to get back to her eggs when she is ready.

Also, is she really truly broody? How long has she been sitting before she was put on these eggs? Often hens will stop and start a bit before actually sitting tight on eggs. Also as she has had no time to settle in she may yet get off them. Saying that, she may well sit tight fine.

Again, am not sure about the shed set up. I believe in fresh air and daylight for chooks and hens. My broodys have nesting boxes to sit in and access to a small outside run area during their egg sitting stage and then also once the chicks hatch. Within a few days my chooks and chicks are roaming in the large runs or free ranging the garden together. The chicks definately won't be able to stay in the drawers once hatched as they need to be at floor level with mum as they cannot climb, fly or get in and out of places safely. Your best bet is a nest box on the floor they can just walk in and out of. A legless rabbit hutch serves this purpose well.

I'd suggest having a rethink of your set up and making it more access friendly for your hen now and for once the chicks hatch.

You sound like a very novice chook keeper and if so I'd advise you keep a close eye on your hen as problems can occur health wise when a hen is sitting and if you are not familiar with chooks and poultry keeping you might miss the signs and end up having to rear chicks yourself.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply, I have now moved her out of the empty drawer and into a big cardboard box on its side with the nest/eggs right at the back so she can go in there for darkness to sit on her eggs. She can now get in and out freely to eat, drink and poop! She had a good run about and feasted on some corn and had a bit if a dust bath then 10 minutes later got straight into the back of the box and sat on the eggs! Hooray!

Fingers crossed she will sit tight on them and not get fed up half way through but we do have the incubator ready just in case.

We have hatched bantams before with a broody hen but it was quite a few years ago and at the time we had lots of chooks as we had our own stables with lots of land - we now live in a residential area but have a nice big garden so just wanted to hatch a few of our own. So yes, we are a bit novice but luckily the gentleman that has given us the eggs and broody hen definatley knows what he is doing

Thanks again for all the info, really helped!!