6mths old and Broody?

[drdoct]

I've tried 3x to get her out of it to no avail. I've seen her come out and eat but right back in even with no eggs. My first thought was to move her to our old first coop and give her the small enclosed run to raise the chicks. It's where we put our chicks after they feather up and don't really need a heat light anymore. I only consider doing this because I don't want the cats and dog (and everything else) to eat the chicks if they're in the regular coop. I don't have an enclosed run for the big girls.

How long will she raise the chicks and need to be with them so that she's satisfied and not protecting them? We're not looking for a huge amt of chicks so were thinking maybe 4 eggs. Hopefully one will be a cockerel to replace my semi mean one.

OR do you think she'll protect them enough to not worry about it and just leave her where she is and collect the extra eggs from under her every night? I would rather they stay in the big coop but my cats have always been very interested in the baby chicks when we raise them.

 

[Yardmom]

My cats have not bothered my chicks, but if you think yours would the seperate coop would work. You would of course need to integrate later with that option As far as how long the mother stays with the chicks, it really varies. I have seen chicks weened as early as 2 weeks, but have also heard of hens staying with chicks for over 2 months. 4 or 5 weeks is what I see most often.

 

[SueT]

I've tried 3x to get her out of it to no avail. I've seen her come out and eat but right back in even with no eggs. My first thought was to move her to our old first coop and give her the small enclosed run to raise the chicks. It's where we put our chicks after they feather up and don't really need a heat light anymore. I only consider doing this because I don't want the cats and dog (and everything else) to eat the chicks if they're in the regular coop. I don't have an enclosed run for the big girls.

How long will she raise the chicks and need to be with them so that she's satisfied and not protecting them? We're not looking for a huge amt of chicks so were thinking maybe 4 eggs. Hopefully one will be a cockerel to replace my semi mean one.

OR do you think she'll protect them enough to not worry about it and just leave her where she is and collect the extra eggs from under her every night? I would rather they stay in the big coop but my cats have always been very interested in the baby chicks when we raise them.

With my hens, the chicks stay with mama about 4-6 weeks. If the hen is not high in the pecking order, the chicks are vulnerable to the other chickens if mom and babies are allowed to stay in the flock. I had a bantam hen who hatched 2 bantam babies and the tiny chicks just disappeared on day 1, no trace. In subsequent years, we isolated mama and chicks from the flock in a see-no-touch set up, and she successfully raised chicks each year. I did the same for another hen. My main coop isn’t really set up for chicks anyway, it has to be easy to get in and out of the nest box and go in and out the door to the run as well. And the feeders/waterers have to be appropriate for chicks. It’s easier for me to have them separated from the flock, but integrate before mama weans them, so she can protect them if needed.

 

[SueT]

I wanted to add something else—-it seems like a lot of effort to break a broody, but I have realized that in the long run, it’s a lot more work baby-proofing everything for chicks, and monitoring hatching and 6 weeks of growing up. In the end, it’s much much easier for me to put the broody hen in my now always ready ‘broody jail’ in the basement for 3 days.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How long will she raise the chicks and need to be with them so that she's satisfied and not protecting them?

Like others, I've seen anything from 3 weeks to well over two months. There is no set answer.

OR do you think she'll protect them enough to not worry about it and just leave her where she is and collect the extra eggs from under her every night?

My broody hens protect their chicks in the nest and after she brings them off of the nest. I don't know if yours will or not.

My nests are between 2' and 4' off of the coop floor. Once the hen brings her chicks out of the nest they never go back. She takes care of them on the coop floor until she takes them outside and she brings them back in the coop at night to sleep on the coop floor. If I had a nest at floor level she might use it at night or she might not. We all have different set-ups.

There are benefits and risks whether you let her incubate and hatch with the flock or isolate her. I don't know which would work better for you. For your first time with a broody hen it might be better to try to isolate her so you can get an appreciation of how good a broody hen can be.

 

[drdoct]

We decided to put her in the old tsc coop that we started with. It is spacious for her and has an enclosed run she can go get dirt time. That way the chicks are protected when they come. Decided to put 4 EE eggs under her. I guess I'll be over on the incubating forum regarding this now. Thanks for the help.

 

[drdoct]

I wanted to give an update. Last night we had 3 of the 4 eggs hatch. We're so proud of super momma who we used to call crazy girl. She's been such an amazing broody especially for being so young. Hopefully the 4th will hatch. She's on it still.

 

[Perris]

Sounds like she'll do fine. I too had a young and inexperienced pullet hatch this year, and she's been an amazing mum. Hatched 7/8, and got all of them to independence - she stayed with them nearly 10 weeks. Hopefully your young broody will do just as well. Good luck to you all!