tori729
Songster
I would love to add 2-3 more chicks to our flock. We got our eight hens when they were 6-8 weeks old and haven't had baby chicks yet. We have a broody brahma right now who has gone broody for the second time this summer. I'd like to try and give her some chicks to raise but I have some issues/questions.
We have a predator proof coop that's off the ground and a non-predator proof run. If I gave her some chicks and needed to separate her (she's at the bottom of the pecking order but she's also BIG and definitely seems like she would be very protective), where would I put them? Would I need a small cage to keep in the coop? The coop is not that big and is off the ground but the run isn't predator proof. I could put them in a cage in the run and that *might* be ok at night; we haven't had any known predators at night.
How long would it be before they could integrate and not need to be separated? We are going away next week so I was thinking of waiting until we get back to add in the chicks. She's only been broody for less than a week so I have some wiggle time. However, we are going away again about 3.5 weeks later and will only have someone to check on them periodically so I'm torn. I would rather integrate chicks this way than get a brooder and it's getting later in the summer and chicks will start to not be as easy to obtain so I might miss my chance.
We have a predator proof coop that's off the ground and a non-predator proof run. If I gave her some chicks and needed to separate her (she's at the bottom of the pecking order but she's also BIG and definitely seems like she would be very protective), where would I put them? Would I need a small cage to keep in the coop? The coop is not that big and is off the ground but the run isn't predator proof. I could put them in a cage in the run and that *might* be ok at night; we haven't had any known predators at night.
How long would it be before they could integrate and not need to be separated? We are going away next week so I was thinking of waiting until we get back to add in the chicks. She's only been broody for less than a week so I have some wiggle time. However, we are going away again about 3.5 weeks later and will only have someone to check on them periodically so I'm torn. I would rather integrate chicks this way than get a brooder and it's getting later in the summer and chicks will start to not be as easy to obtain so I might miss my chance.
