Thank you for the vote of encouragement...I will keep that in mind. I am hoping, hoping, hoping another hen is about to go broody....one already quit on me, but one that hatched for me last year is getting in the mood...she hatched Ms. Marvel and was a great mom...if she stays settled, I will put the extra eggs that develop with her. I may have to use a portion of the main coop, but she is large fowl and protective such that I think I could do it with a subdivision...be my first time experiment with trying to integrate earlier.
I haven't brooded with a turkey hen yet, but it is probably in our future.... bed time is always the most stressful for us also, mama wants to go in and we end up chasing the chicks who haven't figured out the ramp.Luckily that stage only seems to last a day or two. I keep swearing I'm gonna buy a butterfly net to catch the little buggers, but still haven't.
I'm glad it worked out so well for you, they certainly are adorable!
I just love watching my broody with her chicks, she is such a good mom! It is a big relief, we were fairly certain we would have to brood these chicks for her. She is a rescue hen, and grew up as an only chicken to hatch in an incubator project. We got her when she was just over a year old, and were never able to integrate her with our little flock b/c she had no idea how to be a chicken. She is actually pretty afraid of the other hens. She does have a pen buddy, another hen that we purchased from a breeder to keep her company after we were sure our flock wouldn't accept her. Those two did okay, but we moved her buddy out when we saw she was determined to hatch eggs. She is doing great! She protects them, shows them the food and water, calls them to come get under her. I am amazed, she does know how to be a chicken! Her pen buddy really wants to come back. She has done okay with my other flock for the last three weeks, but she's not really settled and misses her friend. I'm nervous to move her back, even though Lillie is being a great mom, I'm not sure she will protect the chicks enough. Any advice? I probably just have to try it supervised and see how they do, but maybe should wait until the chicks are a little bigger? Her pen buddy, Paisley, was broody in her pullet year when we got her, although the move broke her broody. I think she wants to sit too, but my other hens (hatchery birds, no inclination to go broody) won't let her settle on a nest. It is always some drama when keeping mixed flocks! I think Lillie is doing well enough to handle Paisley coming back, but I would hate to lose a chick if I'm wrong. Here are a few more chick pics, they are just so cute!
Totally flock dependent... some hens do great brooding right in with the flock, others have trouble. Close supervision would be needed to see how your girls react. If you want to make it easier on the broody you can use chicken wire or hardware cloth to give her a bit of a segregated area for at least the first 3 or 4 days. Give her just enough room to get off of the nest and move around a little bit to begin teaching the babies about food and water. The little ones will learn to follow her vocal cues and how to avoid being tripped on. During this time you can also observe your other hens to see how much attention they pay to the broody and chicks. Once the babies are moving around well you can remove the wire barrier and let them mingle.
