My broody hen hatched out 2 chicks (out of 7 eggs) on Monday/Tuesday. I bought 2 new day-old chicks yesterday, and slipped them under her after dark last night in hopes that she would accept them, they're only a day younger than her own chicks. I went out this morning and the 2 new chicks were huddled together in a corner away from the hen. They weren't cold but not super warm either. I put them back under the hen (figuring maybe they didn't know to go under her, as they were hatched in an incubator, not by a broody). I went inside the house for a minute to refill a water dish and when I came back, the hen was being a bit aggressive with them. She was also acting like a TOTALLY different chicken. Until this point, she's been surprisingly docile- I've been petting her, checking on her eggs (to remove the newly laid ones) daily during her incubation period, and handling her chicks all the time since they hatched. She just clucked proudly and let me do my thing- not so much as a tiny peck. But this morning she was wild and fierce and had that look in her eyes like she'd cornered a mouse and was ready to rip it apart. And she was being really agressive with ME too, which has never happened. Pecking and vocal and puffing up and giving me the look of death. I distracted her with some meal worms and cuddled both her original chicks and the new ones inside my shirt together for a bit, then tried introducing the new ones again but no go- she had that look in her eyes like they were prey. The are a different colour than her other chicks: one of hers is yellowy-buff-coloured and the other is buff with a black stripe down her back, while the new ones are much darker, brown/grey/black (gold laced wyandotte chicks).
So I set up an outdoor brooder for the 2 newest chicks, underneath our raised coop and right next to this hen and her original two chicks. They've got just a baby gate between them so they can all still see and hear each other, I've set up our seedling heat mat that we'd normally use as a nest box heater in the winter as a "tunnel" in a box for them to stay warm, everything is fine for now, and the new chicks are eating and drinking.
I'm wondering if I should try to introduce them again tomorrow in the wee hours before dawn- if I do this, I'll hang out in the coop with them as day breaks as I'm scared she might kill them. I'd really love her to accept them for so many reasons- especially integration with the main flock (I have 5 other adult hens, all just over 1 year old). But I don't want to risk her killing them, it was actually my 11 year old son who bought them with his birthday money, he's wanted golden laced wyandottes for years and he'll be devastated if she harms them.
Any thoughts or experiences are very much appreciated! Thank you in advance!
So I set up an outdoor brooder for the 2 newest chicks, underneath our raised coop and right next to this hen and her original two chicks. They've got just a baby gate between them so they can all still see and hear each other, I've set up our seedling heat mat that we'd normally use as a nest box heater in the winter as a "tunnel" in a box for them to stay warm, everything is fine for now, and the new chicks are eating and drinking.
I'm wondering if I should try to introduce them again tomorrow in the wee hours before dawn- if I do this, I'll hang out in the coop with them as day breaks as I'm scared she might kill them. I'd really love her to accept them for so many reasons- especially integration with the main flock (I have 5 other adult hens, all just over 1 year old). But I don't want to risk her killing them, it was actually my 11 year old son who bought them with his birthday money, he's wanted golden laced wyandottes for years and he'll be devastated if she harms them.
Any thoughts or experiences are very much appreciated! Thank you in advance!
