Hatch Naturally - Lessons from a Mother Hen

Hatching and raising chicks with a mother hen is a little different from hatching in an incubator and raising the chicks yourself. Check out this video for the lessons that my broody hen taught me about how a mother hen raises chicks and how you can help.
And check out my playlist for more information about hatching and raising baby chicks
• How does a chick hatch...
Or you might find some of these videos interesting:
Hen vs incubator - which is best: • Incubator vs hen - whi...
How to stop broodiness: • How to stop a broody hen
The easiest way to stop broodiness: • The EASIEST way to sto...
Designing nest boxes your hens will want to lay in: • 10 top tips for nest b...
Simple, cheap and effective waterers: • The number 1 best easy...
The final stage of hatching explained: • How does a chick hatch...
If your egg doesn’t hatch: • Why did the chick not ...
Feed for baby chicks: • Chick feed and Coccidi...
Insoluble grit for all chickens’ digestion: • Insoluble grit for chi...
Grow your own mealworms: • Mealworms for chickens...
All about the Grandpa’s feeder: • Feed chickens not spar...
Raise your feeder off the ground: • Raise your chicken fee...
Shell grit for laying hens as a source of calcium: • Free shell grit for ch...
For more fascinating facts, hints and tips about caring for your chickens, and the sheer pleasure of chickens, subscribe to my channel: Chickens in my garden - New Zealand
/ chickensinmygarden
Catch up with me on Facebook / chickensinmygarden
Or if you are more interested in gardens than chickens, you can follow my garden page / myplentifulgarden

[@jdevil8877]

I purchased 10 eggs off a top breeder when one of my girls went broody a second time in October. By November 21st she had hatched 6 chicks; 2 boys and 4 girls. Seeing them grow and having two children under 5 to experience it with, was beautiful. Now I have two boys. Both boys are really good specimens. One is a standard extended black wheaten, the other is a bigger silver (yellow Ss) laced boy. I'm looking forward to breeding (will seperate with hens)and letting my broody girl have another batch. I'm really hoping to get a laced line. I think I have the potential. 😊 This is a fun, hands-on learning experience for us all. My son ran out onto the deck today as the big cockerel crowed (he's getting loud now, the other boy is still soft) and said "a rooster says cockadoodledoo". He's getting the basics from real world experience. 😊

[@jdevil8877]

I'm so grateful that my broody was a good mum. Thank you for your videos BTW, I've learned much from them. I've watched a few of them more than 3 times 😊

[@chickensinmygarden]

That sounds wonderful. And yes, chickens are such great teachers of life lessons, aren't they.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you very much 🙂

[@hlaulis]

Nice video. Although, I feel like mom should be allowed to take the chicks out of the coop as soon as she wants. Typically after the first couple days she wants them to follow her around searching for bugs. That's my experience anyway.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. This was Kiko's first time at being a mother and it took her a while to realise that the chicks couldn't do everything that she could, even walk as fast, or keep warm. After the first few days she got the hang of it. She even took a while to learn how to let the chicks burrow under her! Next time I'm sure she will be fine, but this first time I felt she really needed some human guidance. I know some people would just let her and the chicks figure it out, but I also know those same people who keep mentioning how "another chick died after falling in the water trough" etc - I didn't want to lose ANY.

[@crrc250]

I wanted to stop by again. I had a 1 yo buff go broody again so I gave her 5 eggs laid on a friday. This past thursday, she has 5 spunky chicks! I didn't get her an outside coop ready in time , too hot for ME to be doing much outside, and she had them in the coop, but I had her nest blocked so no one else could bother her. I did take her out twice a day to eat and drink and take care of other things. She's doing great and the chicks are already mischievous! Currently in a large dog crate, like a cage and out of the cramped nest. Today is rainy so I will move her out tomorrow. Between your vid and her, I and my hubby have learned alot more :) Thank you so much for doing these.

[@chickensinmygarden]

That's such good news. Thank you for sharing that. 🙂

[@lisamitchell390]

Greetings from Texas. Thank you for posting this informative video. Very helpful!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. It's lovely to hear from you. Have a great day 🙂

[@vickyannpaintingwithoils]

I thought, That must be a roo to wander off like that. This is such a great video.

[@chickensinmygarden]

The one that's off at a week old? It's hard to tell now but actually I think it was Larry - who I'm now convinced is a girl. And the one who always sat up on the perch by the feeder is also a girl - Hohepa.

[@vickyannpaintingwithoils]

@@chickensinmygarden I thought it was part of the fun guessing what they would be as they grew. What will Larry's new name be? 😄

[@chickensinmygarden]

Well we changed Gabrielle to Gabriel once I was certain he was a boy. But Larry seems to have stuck for now although I thought I would call her Lara. Hohepa is also a problem because Hohepa is a boy's name. It's a variation of Joseph but I chose the name because that little chick reminded me so much of a friend called Hohepa. Some of my chickens have had rather odd names. I still chuckle about Shirley, Goodness and Mercy who followed me about all the day. And I had a ginger-coloured hen called Carrot and her smaller sister called Pea. So maybe I'll just keep calling them Larry and Hohepa. They don't care as long as I'm bringing treats 🙂

[@vickyannpaintingwithoils]

@@chickensinmygarden Haha! LOVE the names! Great point! No they don't probably worry about the names at all. I just call my Wyandotte hens "the originals" and the reds that came later "the backup singers." They haven't complained once, and still let me spoil them. 🤣

[@janw491]

My buff, first time mum of 4 adopted barred rocks, is doing really well considering they are hooligans!

[@kimberlyd317]

Wow chickens can have such phenomenal instincts ❣️ even more than I would have imagined 😊 Thank you for taking the time to put this together!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you 🙂 Have a great day!

[@laconstanciaartesanias9969]

Hello from Argentina! Thank you, that was very helpful! 🙂👏

[@chickensinmygarden]

I'm glad to hear it. Greetings from New Zealand 🙂

[@colleengood6365]

Wow, another great video!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you so much! Have a great day 🙂

[@kida12]

Loved this video! TY

[@chickensinmygarden]

Great, thanks 🙂

[@rosemutindi4325]

Thank you for that lesson. Have learned something

[@chickensinmygarden]

That's great to hear. Thank you 😊

[@lisagayhart2482]

Great content as usual. Thank you for putting out videos. I have learned a bunch even though I have had chickens before

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. I hope you'll have the opportunity to have more chickens in your life 🙂🐥🐥🐥

[@pickupwisdom86]

Kia Ora from Italy 😉 Very educational! I found all the information I needed. Thank you!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Ciao from New Zealand 🙂

[@urbangardeningandchickenke1018]

Excellent video

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you. Have a great day 🙂

[@koshermal]

I love your videos, you're so good at timing your videos to be about something we've either just done or are thinking about doing! About 16 weeks ago we bought some Silver double laced Barnevelder eggs to pop under our broody hen (breed unknown, farmhouse special). We couldn't break her, so we popped some golf balls under her until the real deal arrived. I made a candling box and checked the eggs twice... Couldn't see anything. We just left her to it expecting to throw away some dead or blank eggs. Next thing we know, I go to candle one more time and the eggs cheeped at me! Out of 7 eggs we got five live chicks, and two who mostly formed but didn't finish brewing properly. Only two ish weeks later, Gabrielle hit (we're in Napier. I hope you and your flock did ok through that). We're so glad the chicks are resilient. Our coop/cage flooded and almost everything got wrecked. But not mum and babies! I built a box quite similar to yours for mum, and what I found really helpful was putting some mesh tightly on the ramps. The chicks had it figured out by about day 5. It was amazing! We had all the same worries you mention. But nothing to worry about, our broody lady was a brilliant mum, and now they're all 13 weeks old and are no longer mum's babies. We've never incubated eggs before, and after using a broody hen I don't think I could ever forgo the joy of a proud mum with her babies toddling behind 💜 Edit: oh my gosh, I wrote my comment before the video finished... Are your babies Silver double laced Barnevelders too?! Depending on where you got the eggs, our chicks may be genetic flockmates!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you for sharing that. My goodness my hat's off to you who went through all that storm and still got your chickens through it too. Yes my chicks are double silver laced Barnevelders too - from Joe Go in Auckland. And since they hatched around the time of the cyclone, one of them is called Gabriel! (Unfortunately he's a boy.)

[@koshermal]

@@chickensinmygarden The chickens were fine really, just grumpy they didn't have a floor for a week! Once the ground dried out we cleared it all and gave them some fresh bark, they were happy again. Well how's that, our little ones are also from Jo. 2 degrees of chicken separation I guess. We didn't do so well on the sex ratio though. 3 boys and two girls. An expensive way to gain two hens, but well worth it for the experience and the fun.

[@chickensinmygarden]

I didn't have a good hatch rate - bought 8 eggs, got 4 live chicks but one died at a day old, so 3 - but two are girls so that's perfect - I really wasn't planning on getting any more chickens this year but Ilike the Barnevelders and was intrigued by the silvers. I posted the story as it happened on my Facebook page facebook.com/chickensinmygarden?mibextid=ZbWKwL

[@koshermal]

@@chickensinmygarden Oh my they're gorgeous! We weren't planning on more chickens either, but I guess chicken math wins in the end. We also have one named Larry, and he's definitely a boy. He keeps challenging the alpha boy and getting put in his place. Thank you for your videos, it's so cool seeing someone semi-local with more experience and know how who we can learn a thing or two off.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Strangely enough not many of my subscribers are in New Zealand and it's always great to meet one. I'm contactable via Facebook as well as my rather obvious email address [e-mail] I'm so glad you all came through the cyclone ok. We are in an Orange flood zone but didn't get much more than the usual amount of rain thank goodness.

[@SarahPerine]

fantastic!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you very much 🙂

[@bas4903]

Nothing like a good broody. I had 8 that went broody last season two twice. I was over run with chooks at one stage had about 30 at various ages. Broodiness is catching.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Oh my goodness! I've been lucky with these Barnevelders - only Kiko tends to go broody, her sisters don't. Thank you for watching and commenting 🙂

[@morninglight7544]

Thank-you for this video...much helpful info for my new mama and chicks!!!!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Ooh! You have new chicks? How exciting! 🐥🐥🙂

[@morninglight7544]

@@chickensinmygarden ...One of my girls who I didn't expect to be broody, hatched four chicks...OMG so cute....I have started feeding the babies cooled mushy oatmeal, but I had not thought about them needing the grit....I already have some feed soaking to feed them in the morning. My mama, the chicks and I thank-you so much. !!!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Aww - gorgeous!

[@Baekbongfriends]

안녕하세요 닭이 너무 귀여워요 저도 닭과 병아리20마리 키우고있습니다 저는 대한민국에 삽니다

[@chickensinmygarden]

Hello to Director Baek Bong in Korea. I guess chickens are adorable everywhere 🙂

[@perfstaas7188]

Lovely : )

[@ScaryFear]

Oh my I enjoyed this video so much. I went through the same thing with my Ahab and her babies that will be six weeks tomorrow. I can't wait for her to cut them loose so she can go back to being a hen. I have encountered all the same problems you did. That first weeks the chicks refused to go to bed despite mom calling them home. Very rebellious babies. I had to catch them and put them in bed. I have been worried about the chick vs layer crumbles too. So switching to chick only and will give more oyster for the adults. And yes pretty much everything you mentioned. I know now that a stubborn broody will likely make a good mom. So next time I can let Tashtego hatch eggs. The only thing I don't like is I don't know who hatched when and out of what eggs. But there's the whole hatch in the incubator and sneak the chicks in over night trick. Your hen is lovely. EDIT: I just read the other comment. I have barnevelder chicks right now. I'm in Florida and very worried about the heat. I didn't know they were a cold tolerant breed. I hope they'll be ok. I have lots of shade and water on the property. I realized when I saw the babies seemed extra "furrier" (feathery. I know. But looks like fur) than other babies I've raised in the past.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Oh Tashtego is a lovely name! Hmm, I'm sure Florida gets a bit hotter than the Bay of Plenty here but with plenty of shade and ventilation plus cool water (they don't like to drink warm water) I'm sure they'll be fine. Sometimes I put ice in their water. Lots of people feed watermelons.

[@ScaryFear]

@@chickensinmygarden Thanks. Everyone has names from the characters of the book Moby Dick. Yes it's hot and humid. July and Aug are the worst. Ah, yes watermelons I can do. The coop is under my biggest trees and they free range so they can move from full sun to full shade.

[@chickensinmygarden]

That sounds perfect. I'm sure they will be well looked after by you - lucky chickens 🙂

[@bobbybrown840]

💙

[@KimberlyGingrich]

Do you have a separate run for the chicks and mother hen.

[@AnimeDataPH]

Hello i would like to ask how can i produce a chocolate brahma chicken can i ask what color combination of brahma should i pair to produce a chocolate brown?

[@chickensinmygarden]

Hi there. I'm not sure. I believe a true chocolate colour is from a recessive gene, so you could only get that by introducing the 'choc' gene. However I believe it's also possible to create a kind of chocolatey colour using the Dun gene, which might be more available to you. Although Dun on its own is a rare colour I think the gene is present in several other colours.

[@chickensinmygarden]

You might find this interesting - maybe not what you are looking for, but an interesting account of breeding for unusual colours alohachickens.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-tale-of-blue-chickies.html?m=1

[@summerbaby9379]

Do you have another video showing the transition from the hen box area to the roosting area with the rest of the flock? This was a very good video. I love all of your videos.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Kiko and the chicks were mixing with the adult hens pretty much throughout the whole process except for a few days around the actual hatching time. One night when the chicks were about 12 weeks old Kiko just went and perched for the night in the main hen house instead of the brooder box. The chicks were confused and upset but eventually went to sleep in their brooder box by themselves. (I did nothing except watch.) The youngsters continued to sleep by themselves for about 2 weeks. And then one night one of them just joined Kiko on the perch. The other one tried to sleep in the nest box of the main hen house but I moved her onto the main perch, and they all stayed there all night. I think I had to move one chick from the main nest box onto the perch a couple more times (I didn't write that down) but after that they just all slept on the main perch. One thing I found interesting was that from the time they were on the main perch, they just perched mixed in with the others, not next to Kiko at all. So really, the whole transition just happened naturally with almost no input from me.

[@summerbaby9379]

@@chickensinmygarden wow! This is so amazing! What kind of chicken is Kiko? I have 5 Easter Egger and I hope next spring my hen that usually goes broody can hatch some fertile eggs that I will need to acquire since we do not have a rooster. The five get along rather well except for sometimes with the pecking order, the smallest one gets pecked on.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Kiko is a Barnevelder - her blue colour variation is a bit unusual. I also have two of her sisters (the usual colour) but Kiko was always the one who went broody - once or twice every season. So I just decided to let her try out motherhood, and she was good at it. (She had always been trying to tell me she would be 🙂

[@maryhawken817]

My husband Jon and I love watching your channel. What breed is that momma? Beautiful!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thank you 🙂 She's a Barnevelder, but a colour called Blue rather than the usual black lacing on brown feathers.

[@heriwandraputra1553]

Great videos, I have question Did you ever record recording your australorp hen productivities? Is it true an Australorp lay more than 250 eggs a year ?

[@chickensinmygarden]

Hi. I keep records of all my chickens, including how much they lay. But I've never had any Australorps so I can't answer your question directly. The record for any of my chickens is 305 eggs in one year. She was a cross-bred mix of who-knows-what. I have had a few production hybrids (hyline, ISA brown etc) and they are right up there at over 270 eggs per year. The leghorns also lay over 250 eggs per year. But NOTE: these numbers are all from their best year, which is usually their first year and it depends on what time of year they came into lay. A young hen who first starts laying in autumn will lay at her top production for a full year before her first moult. That will be your record. If she first comes into lay in early spring, she is likely to moult in her first winter and so not lay for a full 12 months. (Except if she's a production hybrid, in which case she will not moult for at least a year). Every year after that she will moult each year, and even during her laying months she will lay fewer eggs each year as she gets older. Australorps originally held the record for egg production back in the 1920s. But even then that was a hen's first and best year not all her life. And since then the production hybrids have been developed and overtaken the record. And the Australorps you can get these days are more likely to be bred to meet the show standard, which measures looks, not production, so how well they lay is unpredictable unless you ask the breeder and he happens to have considered that when breeding.

[@christineyates2618]

Hi, I found the hen is a better mother if she is allowed to raise chick's the first time she goes broody.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thanks for that 🙂

[@kd1841]

Kiko is a great mom. Just curious, did you say or know her breed?. I've looked at chickens like that before but forgot their name. My silkies are also good moms and shared the egg sitting duty between 3 different hens. Maybe not truly by choice, one of my hens sometimes stole the others eggs. I had them marked with small numbers to not damage the bloom too much. The fertile eggs hatched and when one didn't, its hen pushed the egg out of the nest when she knew it was no good. 😉 Nice video!

[@chickensinmygarden]

I didn't say in this video but she's a Barnevelder. Her two sisters are the usual colour but she's blue. I've found the Barnevelders to be good layers. Silkies have a reputation for being wonderful mothers!

[@kd1841]

Ahhh yes, a Barnevelder. My friend had a huge flock of them but lost them during an awefull early heat wave last year when it was 113 Fahrenheit/45 C. It was a terrible loss for her and she doesn't want to keep that variety any more. I didn't loose any, but one hen (a black jersey giant) went into a molt and didn't lay again for 6 months!

[@chickensinmygarden]

Goodness that's hot! If we had temperatures that hot I think I would stick to the Mediterranean breeds - leghorns etc. I do like leghorns anyway.

[@solovable1ify]

Once my hen hatched her eggs, I just let her deside were to go for food and were to sleep. I provide the food and water but then I'm hands off unless one gets in trouble.

[@chickensinmygarden]

Chickens are much more intelligent than we often give them credit for 🙂

[@btsismyuniverse2387]

Can someone help me?I have a question, hope someone can answer me in detail.Here's the thing, I have a freshly laid hen that laid dozens of eggs and it started hatching a few days ago, today is day 4 if I remember correctly. But what confuses me is that the eggs under the hen aren't hot enough, I don't know if it's because it's her first time hatching eggs, or her body temperature is not good. I noticed that most of them were moving but a bit fuzzy and the blood vessels were dilated. Unfortunately two eggs were eliminated today and when I candling the eggs there was a red ring inside. I was concerned that the eggs would go bad so I decided to replace with another hen who has more hatching experience, is there any chance the eggs will be remedied?

[@chickensinmygarden]

Please see my reply to your other comment. I'm confused and need clearer information

[@surgicaltechcrafter2169]

What do i do about vaccinations and feed? My Golden cukoo maran is vaccinated along with our entire flock and we do not have medicated feed. We have feed from co-op.

[@chickensinmygarden]

The use of medicated feed is disputed by some and advocated by others. I have a video about it kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHi2gKh3p5qBmK8 You probably cannot get vaccinations. They are usually only available in bulk, for hundreds or thousands of chickens at a time. I have never vaccinated chicks that I raised, for that reason.

[@CC-fo7tr]

You aussies have crazy names for animals

[@chickensinmygarden]

I believe the word "chook" came from Irish originally, and I guess the Irish influence came to Australia and New Zealand with the immigrants. Maybe one day that word will appear in Wordle. If you play Scrabble it might be worth remembering - chook is worth 15 points in Scrabble 🙂

[@ici_coop]

We 💗 Chooks!

[@BeautifulLorah]

Did she allow you to socialize the chicks or she defended them against your touch?

[@chickensinmygarden]

When she was sitting on the nest with eggs or chicks she would peck me if I tried to touch. At first when I was feeding treats I would give it to her and she would give it to the chicks. Later they were very happy to take treats out of my hand themselves. When I approach the chicken run the whole flock comes running to the door to see what goodies I'm bringing, and Kiko and the chicks seem to be most alert for my approach and are first to arrive.

[@dawnfinniss7978]

Are they wyandottes?

[@chickensinmygarden]

Actually they are Barnevelders 🙂

[@janicealderson4329]

What do I do about letting my chicks out of a small pen they have been living in with Mum - as the main pen has an electric fence - does anyone know how they would cope with an electric fence? They are 3 weeks old.

[@chickensinmygarden]

I've never had an electric fence but if mama is used to it she would probably teach the chicks.

[@janicealderson4329]

@@chickensinmygarden I was hoping that would be the case she is very attentive! I will wait until she lays again and let them out into the big pen?

[@chickensinmygarden]

Usually mama will tell you by her behaviour when she's bored with motherhood and wants to go back to the main flock. But I think I would be starting in a week or so to let them mix together for short periods when I'm there to supervise.

[@HelenEk7]

6:28

[@saethman]

One of the grocery chains in Norway has a slogan something like "The easy solution is often the best" :) At what point did Kiko go back to laying eggs again?

[@chickensinmygarden]

She went back to laying eggs 12 days later. But she's always had a tendency to broodiness and she went broody again a couple of months later. This time I had some fertile eggs so I let her hatch chicks kzbin.info/www/bejne/aGbcqqR8gNCEj6M

[@saethman]

@@chickensinmygarden I meant after hatching those chicks :) (I guess your reply was in relation to when she went broody and you broke it with locking her out?)

[@chickensinmygarden]

Oh, sorry. You're right - I misunderstood. The chicks are a couple of months old now and it's Autumn. Kiko isn't laying yet, and I don't expect her to until Spring.

[@saethman]

@@chickensinmygarden :o I thought maybe she would start laying again not long after they hatched, but I guess she was busy mothering :)

[@chickensinmygarden]

It does vary a bit, depending on breed and time of year. I had one hen who started laying in the nest where she was still sleeping with her chicks although I don't now remember how old they were. I think a couple of months is about typical if it's still laying time of year. But right now none of my hens are laying.

[@crazybackyardchickenman6930]

❤❤❤👍👍👍🤟🤟🤟

[@chickensinmygarden]

Thanks so much 🙂

[@KimberlyGingrich]

Do you have a separate run for the chicks and mother hen.

[@chickensinmygarden]

The box for the mother hen and chicks is right inside the main chicken run. You can see the other hens visiting at around the 5 minute mark. I put up a temporary fence only for a few days around hatching time. The rest of the time they could mix freely but the big girls tended to go out to range while mama and chicks explored the run. This video is also about the same hatching kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaKvZ4qQq7GLfJosi=4iojBNS9QhrnBEhu