Broody hen with 3 week chicks

[BDutch]

so the hen took two living chicks. but the thing is that they are all black except the calico princess (two) so she tried killing the two cp's. sadly after i kicked her and the rooster out for the chicks safety she got taken by a predator. but since then the rooster has taken the dad roll with all 15

Sorry to hear you lost your mama hen.

 

[NatJ]

so the hen took two living chicks. but the thing is that they are all black except the calico princess (two) so she tried killing the two cp's.

That happens sometimes, that a hen will be picky about what color chicks she will accept.

sadly after i kicked her and the rooster out for the chicks safety she got taken by a predator

Oh, no! That definitely is sad news

but since then the rooster has taken the dad roll with all 15

I'm glad that part is going well!

 

[Carontheroad]

Hi all. I’m not sure how to start a new post so thought I would just add to this one since same topic. I have a broody hen (Columbian Rock), must be going on 6 weeks. She started when I was incubating eggs for the first time. I considered giving her a couple to hatch but didn’t have the set up to have a third separate space for her and chicks. So I hatched 20 legbars and they are in the same coop as the older hens (14), separated by hardware cloth. The broody hen fusses over them from the other side of the wire, paces back and forth trying to get into them (when she is not in the nest which is right beside the chick enclosure). The chicks are almost 3 weeks old so I let Miss Broody in with them today to see what would happen as I feel bad for her. She pecked a bit at their heads and I got scared and took her out again. Maybe that is normal mother behaviour, I don’t know. Today she was especially frantic when I brought them back in from their outdoor play time/dust bathing adventure. They were noisy until they ate some food and then she settled down too. When I left she was sitting near them on the other side of the wire and not in the nest box. So I’m thinking just being near them might break her broodiness even if she can’t physically reach them? I’m not sure what to do next, if anything. I could put a couple of the cockerels on her side and lock the other hens out, see what happens? But the cockerels might not like being away from the other chicks. My coop is a large walk in, about 9X15. I’ve only had one other broody hen and I just let her ride it out which took all summer! I haven’t tried the jail thing yet.

 

[BDutch]

She pecked a bit at their heads

This is normal behaviour to learn the chicks how to behave. A peck on the head, as long as the pecks are not damaging the chicks.

 

[Carontheroad]

This is normal behaviour to learn the chicks how to behave. A peck on the head, as long as the pecks are not damaging the chicks.

Thank-you. It’s reassurring to know that it is normal because my gut instinct is to let Broody in with the chicks again and see what happens.