2 broodies hatched out chicks and are fighting - now what???

[bearrocksbirds]

I'm so glad to hear your chicks did well with no more rat trouble!

As for mine, all the chicks and mamas are in the main coop together now.

Once the chicks got to be around 5 weeks old or so, we let them out with the rest of the chickens. Because they had been in the enclosed run with the other chickens able to see them through the fence, there were no problems or incidences other than the regular pecking order business. Each group went out ranging with big chickens by day and nested in the baby coops by night, until just this past week when, one by one, they began roosting in the big coop!

I can't tell yet how many pullets and how many cockerels, but we should be able to tell soon. I hope we have more pullets than cockerels, but even 50/50 would be better than last year's incubator chicks - we had 12 little roos and only 5 pullets!!!

We did have a red-tailed hawk attack last week, and he got one of our chicks. So I kept all the little ones in for a couple of days and kept watch for the hawk. But, I can't stand to keep them locked up here, so they're out again free ranging. We're keeping an eye on them, and they have a lot of woods for cover here, so hopefully the chicks will duck and cover and we'll help fend off the hawks.

I was just out at the coop locking it up for the night and found a big Light Brahma hen sitting on eggs out there! So we may have some more chicks this summer yet! We'll see if she's really broody if she stays in the nesting box tomorrow and tomorrow night. Then I'll move her to one of the small coops and we'll start all over!

Thanks for the encouragement and help! Nice to hear from you!

 

[Nannyteeny]

Thank you so much for all the info!

We do free range our flock, but the enclosed run is where I was putting them to let the chicks grow for a couple of weeks.

We have a big coop - a 10 x 12 shed. We also have 2 "baby" coops (4 x 5 ft) inside the enclosed run, which is apx 30 x 30 ft. with a top.

The chicks are so small now that even the cats and dog would catch them if they wander through the fencing, so I thought 2 - 3 weeks before I release them into the larger paddock which is apx 1/2 acre. The big chickens fly out of the paddock and roam through the woods each day, so they're truly free range. We have 2 acres and another 1 acre next door that's vacant, so they have plenty of room.

Given our situation, I'd really like to have the hens raise their own chicks. My husband has just built the second baby coop, so number 2 broody hen with chicks will go into that tonight and have half the run - apx 15 x 15. Does that sound reasonable?

And does 2-3 weeks until they join the flock sound right? The first batch hatched on the 14th. The second batch on the 21st. Should I introduce both batches together or one at a time?

Thanks again!

How did it go in tge6end? My 2 families are 8 weeks old now, and one of the mummas still tries to attack the other one if she gets near, so her babies are really timid. They are ok out in the garden because they can keep away, but taking down the barrier in the run still isn't possible.