2 mama together in same coop. Ok???

[junior67]

I have 2 hens hatching out eggs. One has 1 that just hatched, her only one. The other has 2 that should hatch or may be hatched. I have 2 coops, one has a ramp the other the door is up a bit for them to jump into. We are going away in a few days and don't think the chicks will be able to figure out either before then. I want to move the one in the coop with the ramp (all the other girls and roos have moved to roost over there) into the other coop and close that door when we are gone so the mamas and babies are safe in there.

My main question is when is it best to move that mama so she isn't as upset or trying to get back to the other coop. Also they are both new moms should I leave them together or put a big dog crate in there and have one in there and one in the rest of the coop? The coop is 6'x6' so enough room for the crate and other mama.

 

[Debbie292d]

We've had multiple hens with chicks, and in fact, hens sharing chicks and it works out. They don't know which chicks are their own, and the chicks don't know which momma is theirs, so they'll get mixed up, but it doesn't matter.

I would do the moving of them once the babies are dry and moving around, and probably best to let one hen settle in with her chicks, then add the other.

Good luck! Sounds fun!

 

[Yardmom]

I frequently have mamas together. Every time is different. Some hens attacked the other mom and chicks. Some moms work together. Some moms attack the other mom, but want all the chicks. The closer the moms sat to each other both in hatch time and distance the better chances of them getting along, but some still attack the other set

You can move a hen and chicks once all chicks are hatched.

If one mom is intent on attacking the other I make sure there are places that the sight lines are blocked between multiple feeding and water stations. If each broody has there own place it can still work even if one mom is over protective.

 

[junior67]

I frequently have mamas together. Every time is different. Some hens attacked the other mom and chicks. Some moms work together. Some moms attack the other mom, but want all the chicks. The closer the moms sat to each other both in hatch time and distance the better chances of them getting along, but some still attack the other set

You can move a hen and chicks once all chicks are hatched.

If one mom is intent on attacking the other I make sure there are places that the sight lines are blocked between multiple feeding and water stations. If each broody has there own place it can still work even if one mom is over protective.

That was my worry is they sat in different coops so not close at all. I did have 2 sets of broodys that are/were sitting together. But one set didn't have their eggs I gave them develop. And the other set broke up about halfway through incubation. Then a couple days before hatch one decided she had been broody long enough and broke so I gave her egg to the other one.

I wasn't planning on hatching any, but 3 weeks ago had a chicken die so I took the last couple eggs I thought were hers and a few other blue and green eggs and gave them to my broodys. Hers didn't develop but the others did. So only had 3 that should have hatched.

 

[junior67]

Well the crappy part of chicken keeping....

I have hatched in my coop with others successfully a few times before. All went fine this time until hatch day. Went out to check the mamas and the one in the coop that the others don't roost in, but do lay in, had her baby hatched. The other girl is nasty so waited later to check her, she is in the main coop (the run connects the 2 coops) well the one that was pipped was no where to be found, no shell, no baby nothing. watched back my camera so I could either move her or her last egg depending on what happened. I didn't want to move her if she killed her baby, but didn't want to take her last pipped egg if something else happened. Couldn't find it on my camera so went out to move her and other egg was gone it was maybe an hour later. Well one of my other hens went in and the mama got off the nest ( not sure why since I have seen her attack others to protect it, guessing this one is #1/the bully) well then she grabbed the egg out of the nest and ate the egg. I found the baby dead when I went back out after seeing what happened. The mama did attack one of the other girls that went near the baby. . So I waited too long to move her. So she has no babies and the other one has her one.