[plumseverywhere]

our Pekin is sitting on eggs, it will be day 21 on Friday (or saturday?!)  we have chick crumb, little drinkers etc ...anything else I need to be prepared for?
She is currently in a broody coop where she can see and hear her flock around her but the others kept laying eggs in boxes nearby and she was nicking them all, so this way we can keep her to 4 

[Stereo]

Just give her the space and privacy she needs to raise her chicks. We confine ours to a broody coop and run for the first while and give them crumbs and water. The hen will eat crumbs happily for a while.

[plumseverywhere]

Thank you Stereo    daft question alert...there is a ramp up to the nest box and down to the food/water area (ie the run) how soon will the chicks fathom how to use this or do I need to make it wider so they don't fall off and get hurt? its about 9" wide.
At what sort of age would you let them out and about with the cockerel and other few hens?

[lord flynn]

the chicks won't be out much, if at all for the first couple of days. they'll soon get the hang of the ramp (or are they bantams?). I give mine some wheat/pellets in a cage feeder that the chicks can't reach.


I don't put anything out with the existing flock until they are about ready to lay/in lay. At 6/7 weeks I tend to separate mum from chicks (but I am usually later in the year and want mum to recover and moult) and keep the growers separate until they are ready to get layers pellets.


have fun, watching mum and chicks is fab

[plumseverywhere]

Thank you Lord Flynn

The mother is a bantam, one egg is hers other 3 are from a cross breed of unknown parentage (she's medium sized, yellow coloured and quite pretty!)  so the bantie will be smallest (think that one is the only viable one anyway from candling)