Looking after brood?

[Snadger]

My ISA Brown hybrid Broody is in broody hut within main run but totally self contained. There is a pophole in the end which is blocked off with mesh. The eggs are due to hatch in 3 or 4 days and all appears well.

Will I still need to keep her and her brood seperate from the other 14 hybrids?
How long can I leave her and her brood in the broody hut?

I've got a feeling I'd better start tomorrow building another smaller run and moving the broody hut into it once/if they've hatched. As my main two pens are in an 'U' formation at least I'll only need to put a front on, make a door and mesh off the roof.
Worried about the chicks drinking...........will mum stop them from drowning themselves?

Here's me thinking I know a bit about chooks and it feels like I know nowt at the mo!

[CoraxAurata]

It depends on the type of drinker, if its big enough for babies to get into you'll need to put some pebbles in it so they can't get more than their feet wet, I think one of Aunty Mo's picks shows the perfect sort of thing.... Mum might object to their suicidal notions but as we know the very young don't always do as they're told

[RichmondHens]

I use those shallow cat bowls for v small chicks - the stainless steel type that splay out at the bottom so the hen can't tip them up. They work perfectly for both bantam and LF chicks and I've seen day olds get into them and get out again with no problem. After a week you can move onto a larger drinker as by then they will be strong enough to perch on the edge.

Does your broody coop have an attached run? If so they will be fine in there. If not, it might be best to move them to one with a separate run for a few weeks, before introducing them to the flock.

I just heard a horrible tale from my mother yesterday about a friend of hers recently hatching chicks in the main hen house, the mother hen proudly bringing them down the ramp into the main hen run, and magpies immediately swooping in and picking off the chicks one by one. So to be on the safe side, a separate run with a roof might be safest, if you have magpies or crows about.

[di]

I don't know your girls Snadger,but if they're anything like our Isa's,I'd go ahead & make a separate little enclosure.I really think ours would have killed the chicks given half the chance!Also,like RH says,make sure it has a top to it...there was a magpie sat eyeing the chicks up on the first day they ventured out...thankfully it couldn't get in!
We used a low round marg tub for water(think Vitalite!)and put a few heavy stones in the bottom.
Word of warning...keep the bowls either shallow or heavy...we went up one day & one of the chicks had "gone"...we searched everywhere...one of the mummies had got a little over enthusiastic throwing the food everywhere for the chicks & she'd somehow managed to flip the bowl right over a chick!...I can thankfully report no chick was harmed in this story!
Good Luck with it and don't lose heart if they don't hatch on time...ours under the broody were a couple of days later than we thought they'd be.

[Snadger]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! All my runs have to have a mesh roof as they are at an allotment and Reynard is always skulking around. The broody coop is like a glorified rabbit hutch maybe 5 foot long, small soilid door at one end of front and a mesh insert at the other side. On the end is a pophole.

New run it is then!

[Hilary B]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! All my runs have to have a mesh roof as they are at an allotment and Reynard is always skulking around. The broody coop is like a glorified rabbit hutch maybe 5 foot long, small soilid door at one end of front and a mesh insert at the other side. On the end is a pophole.

New run it is then!

If you want to give them a 'run within the main run' using the coop where it is, you might try a sort of cloche with wire mesh instead of plastic. Secure one end of the mesh to the coop (adjoining the pop-hole), and close the other end in whatever way will keep other chooks out, but let you open it and reach in.

[Snadger]

If you want to give them a 'run within the main run' using the coop where it is, you might try a sort of cloche with wire mesh instead of plastic. Secure one end of the mesh to the coop (adjoining the pop-hole), and close the other end in whatever way will keep other chooks out, but let you open it and reach in.

I've been busy this evening and have constructed a new walk in run approximately 10 foot by 5 foot with it's own door. Only the roof spars and mesh to go on now. Just a waiting game now to see if eggs hatch! Put a shallow tray in broody coop with pebbles and water in it and changed the food to chick crumb. Also cut the chick crumb container a bit lower to allow little chicks to reach it. Sorted...........I hope!

[Flummery]

We'll be reaching the 1,000 hens on the other thread if people keep this up!

[MaureenHall]

I think that's the idea Flummery