I have 2 chicken hens that went broody recently. they only have wooden eggs right now & i am thinking about giving one of them 3 growing muscovy eggs & the other will get chicken eggs. anyone have experience with seperate brooding pens? seperate as in detached from the main coop. the 2 hens would of course be cooped together for companionship.
I usually give them a couple of days so that they become really protective of their nest, then you just about put them anywhere and they will stay on the nest till hatching time good luck
Separating them fm the main coop would be fine. Broodies need their own space while brooding esp. if they happen to be lower in the pecking order. Otherwise some of the other chooks higher up in the pecking order may harrass your broody and make them leave the nest. In my experience, Broody hens do not want companionship. Think "hormonal" to the extreme. If you brood the two together you may find them trading nest boxes, fussing at eachother and depending on who hatches out their clutch first, you may get them fighting w/each other. There are some broodies who will share a nest but that isn't typical. I had 6 broodies last year at the same time.... it was NOT a fun time. I will not allow that many broodies at one time ever again UNLESS I have separate quarters for each and every one of them.
Thanks everyone, I appreciate the info about your broodies keeper. I have seen lots of hens on here hatch out duck eggs but.. Do you think she will be okay if i put 3 muscovy eggs under her? they have been incubating and are due on the 19th of Jan. the ducklings already have a home set up though so do you think it will be easier to let her hatch and keep the babies for a bit before rehoming them? i dont want her walking around all depressed because she lost her ducklings. ETA: the momma in the pic is a Silkie & Cohcin mix from a breeder/show-er, she's all the time giving away free mutts during the 'off' season. I knew they were gonna be awesoem mommas but she just started laying a couple months ago, thought it would take longer!
Silkies and Cochins are known for being broodies and good mammas so you are in luck there. I think she would LOVE having real eggs under her & will most likely brood them well once they hatch. As a first time mamma you just need to watch her a bit to tell if you should let her keep her babies for a bit. That will be your call & depend on how soon the new owners would want the ducklings so they could "imprint." Scovies are pretty easy going though and seem to adjust to their circumstances well, imprinting early or later. Fabulous Duckies!! Very pretty chook, by the way. You probably couldn't do much better for broody genes!
Thanks Keeper She's really sweet too, she lets me pick her up and move her without even a hint of a growl . then snuggles right back in when i put her back. I will have to start working on a pen for her after the rain stops here. Does anyone have experience with using a XL dog crate for a broody mom?
