Broody isa adopting chicks

[cherrynberry]

Yes, but for tonight they are good, right? I read that it messes up with imprinting if you move the hen too soon.

No! Someone I know had a chick die because she could not get back in the nest after falling out. The nest was 4 inches off the ground.

Chicks can also fall out and die from the impact.

 

[DaisyG2317]

Mama on her babies. Notice little dark peep peep feet under her

 

[DaisyG2317]

Update 3:

Checked on babies before I went in for the night. Everyone happy under mama.

 

[DaisyG2317]

Update 4:

Got up at 0245 and moved broody and babies to nest on coop floor near a chick feeder with flock raiser and a waterer. She showed babies the feeder and promptly nested in the corner covering the babies when the 3 other residents came down from roost to raid feeder. She seems to have taken very well to the babies. I was worried she might go back into the nest box even with the babies on the floor but when I went back and checked at 0400 she was still down on the floor with the babies under her. Yay!

 

[Iluveggers]

Update 4:

Got up at 0245 and moved broody and babies to nest on coop floor near a chick feeder with flock raiser and a waterer. She showed babies the feeder and promptly nested in the corner covering the babies when the 3 other residents came down from roost to raid feeder. She seems to have taken very well to the babies. I was worried she might go back into the nest box even with the babies on the floor but when I went back and checked at 0400 she was still down on the floor with the babies under her. Yay!

Aww sounds like she is starting out as a good mom .

 

[DaisyG2317]

Update 5:

Sad update. The speckled sussex chick was dead in the run being picked apart by the other 3 hens when I got home from work. Not sure what happened. I noticed mama had moved the nest and they were not in same location as this morning. There was no blood or carnage in the coop, so I'm not sure if maybe the chick had died and hens got ahold of it?

I also noticed mama does not really show the babies food or anything. Like, my husband put a little bit of all flock by her and she just started eating it and didn't call chicks to it. She clucks to them frequently, though, and they peep at her.

The 3 remaining chicks are doing well.

 

[DaisyG2317]

Update 6:

One of the hens approached the mama and started pecking her head. The mama is bottom of pecking order. I don't want to have to separate her and chicks but my husband wants to.

 

[cherrynberry]

Update 5:

Sad update. The speckled sussex chick was dead in the run being picked apart by the other 3 hens when I got home from work. Not sure what happened. I noticed mama had moved the nest and they were not in same location as this morning.

I also noticed mama does not really show the babies food or anything.

The 3 remaining chicks are doing well.

You may want to seperate them into a pen where they can see the others, but not be able to disrupt eachother.

 

[cherrynberry]

Update 6:

One of the hens approached the mama and started pecking her head. The mama is bottom of pecking order. I don't want to have to separate her and chicks but my husband wants to.

I agree with your husband. My broody was the top of the pecking order. The only one that could bother her is our rooster, even then, he cannot touch her chicks. She was really mean. Yours seem too timid to protect them well.

 

[DaisyG2317]

You may want to seperate them into a pen where they can see the others, but not be able to disrupt eachother.

I might try and section a part off