Broody hen, peeps, and established flock

[Diane Kaylee]

Hello everyone, looking for some thoughts. I have a run area of about 25'x100', maybe slightly larger, can't recall the exact measurments. I cannot allow my birds to totally run free due to the neighbors dog, but our run area is pretty large. I have 6 girls about 26 weeks old, and 4 girls about 14-16 weeks (we rescued them so not totally sure of their exact age). We have 1 broody currently on 2 eggs due this weekend. Do you think with the amount of space I have outside the coop her little ones will be safe with her inside our run? We introduced the younger girls to the older girls a few weeks back, and still after several weeks we are not totally getting along, but we are managing, I think we are still establishing our order. Will they accept the peeps under moms watch any easier than they accepted the other newer girls? I certainly don't want to have the peeps killed.

 

[azygous]

Whether the chicks are safe in your flock depends on the ability of the broody hen to convince the immature members to keep their distance. Broodies can be formidable forces, and most smart chickens will not choose to tangle with them.

I've been watching a broody hen raise a single chick in my flock of twenty-five, and no one messes with her chick. Unlike former chick broods that grew up in my flock without a broody hen, this chick isn't chased or pecked like those were.

 

[carlf]

IMO, you have nothing to worry about. Your broody hen will vey quickly let everyone else know that she and her chicks are not to be messed with.
My broody hen was the low hen in the flock and my dominant hen never messed with the peeps when she brought them out of the coop into the run..

 

[CuzChickens]

Welcome to Backyard chickens!! I hope you enjoy it and the camaraderie here and everybody that goes nuts over chickens (me being one of them....) Have fun! And ask questions! I have yet to have a broody, so I don't know much, but just from knowing chicken behavior, I would say she will protect them. I have a friend that owned a silkie, and she died protecting her babies, she saw a hawk come swooping down, called her babies, they ran under her, and she crouched over them, but the hawk plucked her up and off of them. My friend was inside the house and saw it happen, but she got outside too late.

 

[Diane Kaylee]

Thanks everyone, next question....my nesting boxes are on the floor or the coop, with 4 walls obviously. The big girls can crawl in and out, but how do the peeps get out? Am I going to have to cut an opening in the front of the box for them to exit?

 

[carlf]

How tall is the lip of the nest box???
They should be able to jump out if its not too tall and there is enough straw in the box.

 

[Diane Kaylee]

How tall  is the lip of the nest box???  
They should be able to jump out if its not too tall and there is enough straw in the box.

 

[Diane Kaylee]

Our boxes are pretty deep, but maybe with enough straw like you said they may be able to get out....I'll try that, thank you

 

[aart]

Our boxes are pretty deep, but maybe with enough straw like you said they may be able to get out....I'll try that, thank you

Will they be able to get back in tho?
I built a little ramp for this situation.
Probably wasn't necessary,
but it was middle of winter and I didn't want them to get stranded out of nest.




That's a nice big run area...how big is the coop?
Also the run walls material, will the chicks be able to get thru it?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Mama hens enjoy a special place in chicken pecking orders and almost always the mama hen will protect her brood from the other hens in your flock. You should be worried more about what the hen with new chicks will do to your other birds.