Growing Up & Independence

Fiona & Hugh Osborne steer you through how broody hens raise chicks for you until they become independent young birds

The of using broody hens to incubate, hatch and raise chicks really come home to roost (pun intended!) once the chicks have been hatched. Unlike incubating and hatching using an incubator, the broody hen takes on all of the responsibility of raising the chicks. She will ensure that they are fed, watered and are kept warm. She will naturally make decisions on their welfare, taking a lot of the burden from you. There are some caveats to be aware of so let us guide you through those final stages to independence.

THE FIRST DAYS WITH THE FLOCK

Earlier on in this series we advised that we allow our broody hens and chicks to roam with the flock as soon as the chicks can run after the broody hen. This can be as early as 24-hour hours after hatching. To recap, this may be nerve-wracking for many people as chicks are small and vulnerable compared to adult members of the flock but they do have an extremely protective broody hen. We cannot overemphasis the need for LOTS of space for this method to work. The broody hen and her chicks must be able to navigate around, but not with the flock.

This early integration will not always work as every hen and every chicken breed is different so it's good to be prepared to separate the flock from the broody hen and chicks if necessary. In many years of using this approach we have not lost a single chick, but an over-curious hen has lost a feather (just one feather) from the broody hen expressing her protective nature! For the first few days we are vigilant with the chicks particularly at roosting time.