2 Hens on eggs

[scallon]

Hello all
My first post. Have a question that I have searched the internet for answers but have come up empty.
I have 2 hens sitting on eggs. I have about 15 chickens total and 2 are roosters. I am going to move the mother hens and their eggs into their own enclosure outside the coup so that when the little ones begin to hatch they will be protected until old enough to be with the rest of the flock. Is it OK to keep both mother hens with their chicks in the same enclosure? They will have an area that is 12 feet by 12 feet. I will watch them the best I can when I'm home, but my wife and I have new little one and I have to work so will not be able to out their most of the day. Has anyone done this? Any suggestions?

 

[KellyHM]

Are the hens sitting on the same nest or do they have separate ones? If they are on the same one and are sharing it well they will probably do fine raising the chicks together. If they are on separate nests they may kill the other's chicks to keep them away from their own. I tend to let my broodies stay with the main flock and raise the chicks there, as long as I don't have any especially mean chickens (which I don't b/c those get sent to freezer camp).

 

[scallon]

They are sitting on separate nests of eggs. I was separating the chicks from the flock because I thought the older chickens in the flock would consume the chick starter food and making it difficult to keep the young ones fed. I feed the older chickens organic pellet and so it is too large to the little ones to consume. the two hens that are brooding are a couple of my nicer ones so I'm hoping they will get along with one another's chicks.

 

[peewee6765]

you have to get a chick feeder which is a feeder with smaller holes so hens cant get in

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

I have never had a problem with multiple hens raising chicks..sometimes one of hens chicks will end up going to the other mother..it's too funny. Keeping them away from the others is fine also..just make sure they are in an enclosed place so nothing can bother them or the mothers.

 

[scallon]

here is what I've learned today.

Don't move brooding hens. I set up a really nice space for the hens. Used an existing large animal pen. Built large boxes to place the eggs into and moved them into the pen. The only thing the hens wanted to do was to return to their original brooding location in the main coop. They never sat on the eggs no matter how many times I placed them into the box. They ended up flying out of the pen which normally they never do and returned to their places in the coop and then persisted in throwing a fit. I simply returned the box with eggs in place and they assumed the brooding position. So I've decided to wait until the chicks hatch and watch to see if there are any problems. If there is then I will move mother and chicks into the pen I've set up for them. Thanks to all for the input. Hope my experience helps others.

scallon

 

[cashdl]

I always move my broodys at night once the eggs are about 14 to 17 days. I only have 1 hen that I have to wait untill the chicks hatch before I move her. 1 hen I can move during the day, move her onto different eggs, she doesn't care as long as she has something to sit on. Each hen is different.

It is usually best if you are going to move them to do it just after the chicks all hatch. Then the hen will be happy as long as they are there.

Lanae

 

[Tropical Chook]

I just leave my broodies and their eggs right there in the coop. I find the mothers are more than capable of protecting them, and the Thai game cocks also assume the role of protector almost immediately once the chicks appear. I have two hens in the same nest at the moment, and I have two other hens who insist laying in there as well. I know I should seperate the eggs because of hatch dates, but as there are always at least to broodies at any given time, when one departs the nest, one of the other girls will be more than willing to take over as resident broody

Let's just say, a month and a half from now, and there should be plenty of fuzzy butts running about

 

[KellyHM]

For furture reference: before attempting to move a broody slide a moveable nesting box under her current location. Give her a couple days to get use to that, then pick up her and the nest all at one time and move to a new location. This usually works for mine.

 

[scallon]

thank you all for the info. I should have waited until night time and it would have probably been a lot less dramatic.