introducing chicks to a broody! HELP!

tobit

Songster
6 Years
Jan 1, 2014
428
47
103
UK
I have 2 broodies, one is an easter egger and one a cochin bantam. The easter egger has sat on a cluth of shipped eggs that all failed. today would have been day 23, the cochin bantam has been broody for roughly 1-2 weeks. I am going to buy some 1 day old cream legbar chicks to sneak under one of them either tomorrow or monday depending when they hatch. The EE has never hatched chicks and is still a pullet, she seems a bit more feisty as a broody than the cochin bantam that is very docile and 2 years old, the cochin bantam has also previously hatched some of our own eggs when we had a rooster.

Basically i was wondering which one i should give the chicks to and which to break? I would have to break the EE and move the cochin banty into the broody coop (in which the EE currently is, the cochin bantam is on a nest, in a card board box for easy movement, in her own coop that she shares with 3 other bantam hens). The chicks would ultimately be introduced into the flock of 3 LF hens that the EE is technically part of.

What do you think?
 
Hard call, I think. Normally, I would vote for the Bantam, but maybe she hasn't been broody long enough. The EE sounds flighty, but hard to tell what her reaction would be. No matter what, I would do all moving in the dark of night with very little noise to keep from upsetting the hens.

Why don't you try asking over at the Broody Hen thread? There's LOTS of knowledge and more help over there!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/496101/broody-hen-thread/9330#post_15510356
 
I ended up giving them to the EE, but she seemed very unsettled and kept putting her head under her body. so, i took all the chicks away from her again, moved her into her original coop, moved the pekin banty into the broody coop and gave her the chicks, she pecked at them a bit when their heads popped up so i put a towel over her and they all snuggled under her nice and calm. I checked them at 4am and 6am, at 6am i pulled the towel back and she treated the chicks as if they had hatched during the night!
celebrate.gif
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom