15 - 16 eggs will be hatching this Sunday: we live in West Virginia, so the nights are in the upper 30s and 40s right now. We're new at this: Will she be able to keep all these chicks warm when they hatch, or do we need to supplement with a lamp or two? She is in a chicken house on a bed of straw, about a foot and a half off the cement floor, which we are planning to cover with paper and wood shavings. Advice?

She should keep the birds warm enough. just don't have any small places where the chicks can get outside.

I'm just curious: Did she lay all 16 eggs?

Dear Brooks: Use straw rather than wood shavings on the floor - wood shavings hold more moisture, which you don't want, particularly in the wintertime. Straw also has greater loft than wood chips, and so provides greater insulation.