Ken's New Chicks

Ken encourages broody hens.  Broody hens want to sit on eggs and hatch out chicks.  In our experience chicks with good mothers have a head start - someone to care for them, teach them chicken skills, and protect them.

Once a hen continues to sit in a nest box over night, Ken starts to watch for a couple days.  Then he moves her to a quiet, undisturbed area, places some eggs under her, and she flattens like a pancake over the eggs and looks rather comatose for three weeks, she gets up only to eat and defecate.  

If all goes well, she has turned the eggs, kept them warm, and not broken any.  Then the chicks hatch!  She usually watches them until they go from puffy chicks to chicks with feathers.  Then she starts laying eggs again.