3.6m Omlet Chicken Run for sale, Brand New in Boxes, Milton Keynes (MK19)

[Space Chick]

A friend of mine has left some fertilised eggs under her broody (I have expressed that I think its still too cold) but she has some questions, some of which I can answer, some of which I can't and will need answers to myself in a while

 

Ok here goes....

 

Q1. Do I need to separate the broody (currently in with 1 other girl and a cockerel)?

My answer - Definitely as the other hen and cockerel will attack the chicks

 

Q2. Will the Mum feed the little ones?

My answer - Oooh thats a very good question!

 

Q3. Will I need to supply the mum/chicks with any special food/supplements?

My answer - see Q2 I know about chick crumb but don't know about logistics

 

Q4. When can I integrate them all back together?

My answer - You will need the chicks to be at POL before you can integrate, I also mentioned about not integrating back in with the "Dad". Didn't know how long Mum would need to stay with chicks though.

 

Thanks guys

[Redwing]

first one you got spot on

 

Second one - yes she will show them how to eat BUT

 

third one - chick crumbs need to be provided (the mum can eat these too)

 

Fourth one - they can go back in after about 18 weeks as you say but there is no reason they shouldnt mix with the cockerel

[Lewis]

She should be kept separate yep

 

I'd put a little dish in with chick crumb that the can all eat, but also a coop cup up high that only the broody can eat too just so she can get something to eat.

 

Sometimes she'll stay with the chicks, but some broodys get bored of the chicks at 8-10ish weeks old and integrate back to the rest.

So the chicks could be kept separately for another 10 weeks until they are POL, and then integrated with the others

[abwsco]

Q4 - Mum will be ready to go back at around six to eight weeks if memory serves me right BUT if the chicks have been in view of the other chickens you don't need them to be POL to introduce them. Ours were introduced fully just before they were 11 weeks old. There was pecking but we were on hand for supervising as we did it over the weekend.

[Jools]

Q3 In addition to chick crumb, I used to add Protexin to the drinking water but now I use Herban instead. Either just help to boost their juvenile immune systems, particuarly against coccidiosis.

 

Q4 It depends. I always keep mine separate until POL because I want them eating growers not layers pellets.

 

However, provided she's a good mum and there is enough room in the run, others put mum and chicks back while the chicks are still with mum. The idea is that she protects them, she doesn't get bored with them so quickly, they're quick enough to get out of the way and the grown ups accept them as chicks so they're integrated early on. However, I can't see that this would work in a confined space and, as I already mentioned, there's the food problem.

 

Sooooo, I refer you to the answer I gave a few moments ago.

 

One more thing for your friend, she needs to be very careful about moving the broody because some just won't have it and abandon the eggs, whatever time of year. It's best done at night and then keep her shut in her new nest the next day until you're sure she's sitting tight. Then put food and water within easy reach of the nest and wait patiently.

 

Oh, one more thing!!! Only feed her corn, not pellets, otherwise she'll mess the eggs. If she doesn't take herself off the nest to defacate, then your friend needs to lift her off once a day. Most do it themselves if left to their own devices, but some are really stupid!!

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Debs, answers from my experience..........

 

1.....Yes definitely, mum may get very protective of her offspring as much as the others attacking the babies. Leave a bowl of food and water nearby so she can snack when she wants to.......ours enjoyed scrambled egg too!

2.....Yes again.......please ensure that mum eats & drinks plenty........force feeding a young mum is not a nice experience, and the chicks will often try & "help" .maybe it's just brain-cell-less Orpies who do this, blue splash ones called Buffie to be precise

3.....Mum will eat the chick crumb (hopefully ), I also put a cage cup of corn up high for the brainless one to eat..the babies learned how to jump up on the side of the cage cup & stretched their little necks from a very early age She showed them how to eat everything...sweetcorn, mealworms, maggots, cake, scrambled egg everything really.

4.......Buffie went back to the big girls at about 10-11 weeks for her own health & the bufflings took it into their own little wings to escape out of their run into the main garden a short time afterwards...........they freeranged happily, as far away from the big girls as possible, especially "Auntie" Snowdrop who as lowest in the pecking order saw it as her duty to be chief bully . They never showed any intention of integrating with the big girls, as a result they now all have their own homes

 

Hope this helps a little........I really can't stress the eating point enough either, Buffie has been a very poorly girl several times since the brooding, and I'm convinced it all links back to a weakening of her system due to not eating & drinking ........guess who will see the broody cage if she takes that life-style choice again

 

Sha x

[abwsco]

Q4 It depends. I always keep mine separate until POL because I want them eating growers not layers pellets.

 

Yep, I should have said that mine were only fed on chick crumb for the required legnth of time and then moved on to the same food as everyone else as I mix my own and don't buy pellets.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Oh yes, as mine didn't integrate with the big girls, they had growers pellets in their run & the big girls had layers........the big girls invariably stole the growers, so I had a feed station set up near the house for the bufflings to munch at during the day

 

Sha x

[Egluntyne]

I'd say don't use medicted chick crumbs as they won't be good for the Hen.

[Jools]

I always use medicated chick crumb to avoid the chicks contracting coccidiosis. You shouldn't use medicated feed with laying hens or meat birds (I think there's a withdrawl period of a couple of weeks), but broodies don't lay eggs so that risk isn't there. In actual fact, I've heard of people using medicated chick crumb or growers pellets in preference to coxoid at the first sign of a cocci outbreak in their adult flock.......

[Egluntyne]

None of my chicks raised on unmedicated crumbs have gone on to get coccidosis.

[Griffin]

Mine have, I lost three or four to it last year and it's heartbreaking so for that reason I'll only use medicated crumb. I do prefer the quality of the unmedicated crumb I used to use but I'm not prepared to risk losing any more little ones.

[The Dogmother]

None of my chicks raised on unmedicated crumbs have gone on to get coccidosis.

 

Nor mine

[Jools]

It's like everything, you assess the risk and make your decision accordingly.

 

I prefer not to use medication unnecessarily but I've read far too many forum posts on the devastating impact of cocci on chicks that's it's a risk I won't take. It hits hard and fast with a high death rate. Still, each to their own.

[Redwing]

The only medicated chick crumb I can get locally is the only feed producer I wouldnt touch with a bargepole so I dont feed it

 

I use a weak dose of Coxoid now from days 4-11 instead

[tom123]

I agree, I always use medicated crumbs as I don't want to take the risk.