What a nice little momma and chickies! As far as how long she stays in momma-mode, it depends on the hen... and her hormone levels. You could fix up an outdoor pen with a simple box house inside... sort of a chicken tractor. This would, by default, prolong her mothering days. I do this with my broodies and it works well. When they start getting cramped, I begin letting them free range with momma in the afternoons and then lure them back into the pen with crumbled hard boiled egg. Having the tractor located in the chicken yard helps the hen to keep her place in the flock and lets the other hens and the chicks get used to each other safely. Eventually, momma will remember that she is a hen with a LIFE, for goodness sakes! She may or may not start taking them into the big house at night. You kind of just have to play it by ear. She won't want to leave them until they are fully feathered and by then the weather will be warm enough that they won't need her at night. Usually by this time they learn to stay away from any mean hens you may have. So if she abandons them, they will still be okay in the chicken tractor until they get older. If they don't start using the big house on their own by fall, you may have to put them in a dog crate or the like for a couple of days INSIDE the chicken house. That way they will accept it as home. I've never had a brood of chicks that didn't do just fine. I've lost the odd hatchery chick, but my Sussex hens always raised every chick they hatched. They teach their babies well and equip them for real life. I much prefer natural incubation. Good luck with them and if something comes up that worries you, be sure to post about it. You might also visit Velvet Sparrow's site. I think you know how to get there, but I'll post the link anyhow. Here is a link that might be useful: Velvet Sparrow's Website - Bookmark it, folks!

Yup, I'd keep the mamas and babies separate, too. The moms may be perfectly OK with each other for a long time, and then suddenly one day go at it hammer and tongs and fight like cats and dogs. The only time I had a two hen brood work was when my two little identical twin banty hens went broody together (they did EVERYTHING together and were never more than 6 inches apart) and raised three little chicks. But they are more like one chicken, they are so tuned in to each other. They've never fought or pecked each other, either. I have a couple of hens that have had sudden fights with each other over the last year, out of the blue, for no reason. They will fight until one of the roos runs over and gets between them or I go scoop one of them up. My Belgian d'uccle Millefleur hen, Millie, decided last year that she HATED my little silver game bantam hen. Here's Millie 'before', so you can compare the facial tufts: Isn't she cute? Till THIS: Total carnage!! She looks like a prize fighter. Millie got the worst of it, because she wouldn't let things drop. The fighting went on constantly for 3 or 4 days! MIllie ended up quite battered, and with most of her facial tufts yanked out. Then as suddenly as it started, it stopped, and they haven't even glanced at each other since. Go figure on chickens...! Velvet ~:>

It will be too cold. Is there some way you could run a extension cord with a ceramic fixture-Heat lamp is best. Hang it above the bedding high enough (usually 12-15") so it won't start a fire. Check how warm it gets under the light by placing a thermometer on the ground-it should be between 70-90F. The chicks will move away or to the heat as they may need. Until they are 10 to 12 week old in cold weather they probably will need night time heat-it depends on breed and their body size on how long and much heat they will need. I have Seramas and they are very tiny tropical chickens that can't survive well below +40F. Some are as small as 5 ounces fully grown. Good luck with them. If you would like to some picture of them visit www.virgilwalters.com and www.virgilwalters.com/justseramas/

Congrats on your chickens! And yes, having chicks IS more exciting than eggs. :) I've got a chicken info site here that can answer a lot of your questions: http://jackshenhouse.com/ But as for broody hens, they are easy to spot: They will sit on a nest (eggs or not) for hours on end, seemingly in a trance. They will come off the nest once or twice a day to eat, drink, poop (huge, stinky!) and maybe dust bathe, then go back. They will be fluffed up and emit rapid fire 'cluck-cluck-cluck' sounds, growling/shrieking at anyone or anything that approaches them, and generally be grumpy. :) What you can do to ease your hens' worries about taking her eggs is to take a moment and praise her for it. After all, it IS a big deal. :) I do it for my girls when they are especially proud of the eggs they've laid. Sounds silly, but they do understand it and it seems to calm them. You can crack any egg into a dish and tell if it is fertile, just look for the white spot on the yolk. If it is big and has rough, undefined edges, it is called the 'blastodisc' and is NOT fertile. Fertile eggs will have a more defined, round, doughnut-like germinal disc that is now called the 'blastoderm'. Pictures and more info here, read the section called 'Fresh Egg Breakout': http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/b1166-w.html I've done it with mine (refrigerated or fresh didn't matter), it worked even without letting the egg sit as brendan said. I just cracked mine into a small dish. Also as brendan said, breed differences don't matter--if your roo can make the climb, love will find a way. :) Velvet ~:>