First time giving a broody chicks

[Magpie2]

I a few have eggs incubating and we’re less than a week away from hatching. I also have a broody who I didn’t let sit on any eggs until recently so she’s definitely not reached her 21 day mark. There is also another hen who I think has gone broody as well now, they sit happily in the same box and make raptor noises.

I don’t want to put the eggs under either of them before they hatch because the very broody one is partially blind in one eye and she struggles to keep the dud egg she has under herself sometimes, and the other hen hasn’t shown me that she wants to sit on eggs yet, she’s still walking around outside of the box most of the time.

The plan is to let the chicks hatch and dry off, then sneak them under the very broody one that night. I’m pretty sure she’ll take them but I’ve never done this before so let me know if I should be doing anything differently.

I’m also tempted to leave the not as broody girl in with her friend and let them both raise the kids together. Would this be okay? Are there any risks?
The two ladies get along for the most part but they very broody one has chased the other around a few times before she started sitting on her egg.

They’re both pretty friendly even when broody it seems. I can reach in to touch them, pick them up, take the egg, etc. they’re very sweet girls. I could probably be more hands on with them and the chicks if necessary.

The little bantam Cochin is the very broody one and the speckled Sussex is the not as broody one. We were treating the Sussex for frostbite (finally healed now ) so they’re in a pen inside already and it could easily be converted into a brooder.

 

[maceleneo]

I let two hens hatch together: they went broody at the same time and sat on the same bunch of eggs but one was actually less broody and less commited than the other. I never had any aggression problem within my flock, so I gave them a try. It worked perfectly and they were the sweetest thing to watch.

Since you never know how this things go and I read a lot of people have had problems trying to do this, I would say try it, but prepare a B plan in case something goes wrong. Can you separate them quickly in case things go wrong? You should be watching when they wake up to make sure they accept the chicks and check if they can manage the situation or if they start fighting for them. You should also let us know how things go and of course post a lot of chicks pictures!

 

[Ridgerunner]

The plan is to let the chicks hatch and dry off, then sneak them under the very broody one that night. I’m pretty sure she’ll take them but I’ve never done this before so let me know if I should be doing anything differently.

That's basically what I do. I usually wait until the hatch is over before putting any chicks under a broody and do them all but I've split it before also and had success.

I’m also tempted to leave the not as broody girl in with her friend and let them both raise the kids together. Would this be okay? Are there any risks?

Many people have stories similar to Maceleneo's. It goes great. But sometimes it does not work. Some hens might kill chicks under the other broody. The two hens may fight over the chicks. I've had two hens fight over the eggs just as they start hatching and chirping, about half the eggs were destroyed. When it works it is cuteness off of the charts but there are risks. I try to avoid them.

 

[Magpie2]

That's basically what I do. I usually wait until the hatch is over before putting any chicks under a broody and do them all but I've split it before also and had success.

Excellent! Unfortunately it only looks like only one of the four original eggs we had is still viable so it’s very likely that we’ll give her/them more later. Don’t want a lonely baby.

Since you never know how this things go and I read a lot of people have had problems trying to do this, I would say try it, but prepare a B plan in case something goes wrong. Can you separate them quickly in case things go wrong? You should be watching when they wake up to make sure they accept the chicks and check if they can manage the situation or if they start fighting for them. You should also let us know how things go and of course post a lot of chicks pictures!

I have some chicks that are fully feathered now so their baby brooder can be used if the moms don’t work out. Very broody mom is also a bantam so she can fit in a smaller space for a little while if it only works with her. Those are my plan B and C.
I also plan on sleeping in the same room and setting an alarm for just before sunrise.

As for pictures…

Here’s bio-mom

The most likely Father

The most amazing picture of baby

 

[Yardmom]

Could this work maybe, but you have many risk factors. It only takes one of those risks to not work for the whole plan not to work. Risk 1. You mention that the main broody was struggling to keep eggs under herself. Will she be better with chicks that move around? Risk 2 Giving a hen chicks that she didn't hatch. Yes this works for many, but it is definitely not a given with one hen never the less two. Risk 3 Broody hens all react differently to other broodies. A few "sister" hens will raise chicks together, but a broodies instincts usually make her attack anything that competes with her chicks. You mention one already chases the other. Some broodies attack other broodies while some broodies attack other chicks. It is pretty hard to predict how either hen will react to the shared situation. Plus all the normal risks involved with broodies raising chicks. Personally I would pick one of the hens to brood the chick.

 

[MountainWoman73]

My experience with two broodies: I had one who was more serious and one who had only gone broody 6-7 days before the eggs hatched and was less serious about it. The less serious broody (the black marans) was an experienced mom and the more serious one who had been sitting longer (the bielefelder) was a first time mom. The bielefelder hatched two chicks and I put one under the BCM for a few hours. Then I let them both move in with the two chicks and try to work it out. They both tried to mother, and sat together with the chicks kind of under both of them for a couple days. After 1-2 days the more serious broody took both chicks and the less serious one lost interest. But apparently seeing the hatched chicks was enough to satisfy her, and she didn't go back to the nest either. So it all worked out.

 

[Magpie2]

Could this work maybe, but you have many risk factors. It only takes one of those risks to not work for the whole plan not to work. Risk 1. You mention that the main broody was struggling to keep eggs under herself. Will she be better with chicks that move around? Risk 2 Giving a hen chicks that she didn't hatch. Yes this works for many, but it is definitely not a given with one hen never the less two. Risk 3 Broody hens all react differently to other broodies. A few "sister" hens will raise chicks together, but a broodies instincts usually make her attack anything that competes with her chicks. You mention one already chases the other. Some broodies attack other broodies while some broodies attack other chicks. It is pretty hard to predict how either hen will react to the shared situation. Plus all the normal risks involved with broodies raising chicks. Personally I would pick one of the hens to brood the chick.

The one struggling to keep the eggs under herself only struggles due to a visual impairment. She was reaching for the eggs, missing them, and trying to roll air under herself. I have noticed that she’s been getting a lot better at it. I still don’t trust her with eggs that can’t help themselves but chicks will actively move and call to her so I don’t think she’ll struggle with them.

The one I definitely want to give the chick to is the boss between the two ladies, I’d pick her if I had to pick one.
The other is a bit more of a concern but I’m inclined to give it a shot with her too. She looks like she may have had her beak trimmed at her previous home so she has a blunt peck that can’t do much damage, she can still grab and tug if she really tries but if I’m in the room (which I plan to be) I’d have a lot more time to intervene than I would with a different bird.

They’ve been each other’s only company for months and it breaks my heart a little to split them up but I will if I need to.

 

[maceleneo]

The most amazing picture of baby

Wow, parents are beautiful, but the egg picture is really stunning! :O

I have some chicks that are fully feathered now so their baby brooder can be used if the moms don’t work out. Very broody mom is also a bantam so she can fit in a smaller space for a little while if it only works with her. Those are my plan B and C.
I also plan on sleeping in the same room and setting an alarm for just before sunrise.

Sounds as a good plan to me! I would watch them closely for the first few days, but if you are going to be in the same room you can easily intervene and it should be fine!
My hens had some minor skirmishes when eggs started to hatch and for a couple of days they sometimes did pecking gestures at each other trying to decide who was going to keep who, without any hurting, then they sorted it out. They never showed any aggression toward the chicks.

Keep us updated!

 

[Yardmom]

If it has been just the two of them their bond may be strong enough to raise the chick together.

 

[Magpie2]

In an unfortunate turn of events, our family dog of 15 years passed away very early this morning.
It’s bittersweet but the chick hatched around the same time.
2-3 days earlier than expected. I swear they were only cooking for 18-19 days.

The chick has become considerably more precious than we expected and I might not attempt to give it to both moms. We’ll probably see tonight or tomorrow night.

We decided to name them “Angel”. They popped out with a perfect zipper, and touched the sensor in the incubator which set off the alarm and alerted us of their existence. Clever thing.