[nannie16]

     Hi, I am new to this forum, just found it tonight.  I have a game chicken that went broody, but no rooster, so I put some of my red sex links eggs  under her.  She hatched us out 5 beautiful babies today.  We left the chicks with their mama for now in an enclosed area.  Will nature just take care of thing or is there something that I should do?  This is my first hatch so I am pretty much in need of advice.  I did put a waterer and chick starter in the enclosed area.

Thanks...nannie16

[bantam novice]

Welcome, nannie16  .  How exciting to have such a hatch. 

My feeling is that your mama hen knows what she is doing and you should leave it to her.  You'll enjoy watching her teach the little ones so find a comfortable chair so you can sit and watch!  Just make sure that they have water and food. 

Chicks can drown if the water is too deep so best to have a shallow dish for them to begin with. 

I don't know what temperatures are like where you are or whether they are inside or out.  Mama will have to work harder to keep them warm until they are fully fledged.

I am not that experienced and I'm sure someone more experienced will be along to chip in.

Good luck!

[joyfull]

Hi and welcome, as bantam novice said the mother will take care of them - she and the chicks will eat starter crumb for about 6 weeks then you can start to mix in growers (also known as rearers) until they are on just that (make the change gradually over a week) and then at 16 weeks start the change over onto layers feed. If you don't have a chick drinker then a shallow dish with some pebbles or marbles will help prevent the chick drowning as they can sip the water from the little gaps between the marbles. When they get to about 8 weeks the mum will probably want to join the other birds but she will let you know when she is ready