If you use a broody hen to hatch fertile eggs, the hen will do most of the work for you. But there are a few things that you can do to increase your chances of a successful hatch of adorable healthy baby chicks.
- Make sure the hen is really broody before you put valuable fertile eggs under her. They can be any colour eggs.
- Set her up in a warm, comfortable, ventilated, draft-free broody nest that is completely free of red mites.
- Don't have her food and water in reach as she sits. She needs to get up for 10 - 45 minutes each day.
- Have a backup ready in case she abandons the eggs or attacks the hatching chicks.
- You can add chicks to her brood in the first few days, even different coloured chicks.
- Provide chick food (NOT layer feed). The hen can eat it too.
- Provide water in VERY shallow containers. Chicks that fall into deep water dishes can drown or die later of pneumonia.
- Provide insoluble grit for the chicks' digestion as soon as they are eating anything other than chick crumble. 2 - 3 mm. NOT shell grit.
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22 июл 2024
