Broody Madness

[aart]

So it worked!!! Mostly. If I had to do it again, I'm not sure I would recommend trying to graft chicks at 6 days old,

Ha!! What a chicken rodeo!!
Yeah, the younger the chick they more likely they will bond to the hen.
Were chicks under a heat lamp?

 

[tori852]

Ha!! What a chicken rodeo!!
Yeah, the younger the chick they more likely they will bond to the hen.
Were chicks under a heat lamp?

Yeah, it was quite the chicken rodeo!!!! Baby chicks EVERYWHERE. I will keep "the younger the better" rule in mind next time.

They were under a brinsea ecoglow at the breeder's place, and a ceramic heat emitter here. If you're not familiar, the ecoglow looks like this. It mimics a mother hen because the chicks have to hide under it to get warmth. Image isn't mine, I found it on the internet.

 

[WhatAboutBob?]

Ok so we introduced the chicks last night like I described. Went fine at night, and they were fine when I checked on them first thing in the morning. Seeing their success, Dad gave Cloud two more in the morning so she had four. Not a good idea.
Once the chicks started waking up, Cloud decided to reject her four. She chased them out of her cage and wouldn't let them come near her. Apparently the chicks can get through the dog crate so note to anyone who might use this method: attach hardware cloth to do the dog crate or SOMETHING to keep the chicks in. Though in our case it was probably good since the chicks were able to escape and thus were uninjured. They were running around the coop though and going between the cages and freaking out.

Luckily Ash (she and her chicks are uncaged and have free roam of the coop) and Nutmeg were dutifully collecting any lost stragglers, though Ash didn't want the black chicks at all and she'd nip at them for some reason. Nutmeg is doing great with her chicks and has no color preference. She immediately switched to mommy mode and is making cute little mommy chicken sounds so we gave her more until she had 12, and we let Ash keep the ones that had run away from Cloud so she has 12 as well. The last 6 chicks are in the brooder inside since we don't have anywhere else to put them.

So it worked!!! Mostly. If I had to do it again, I'm not sure I would recommend trying to graft chicks at 6 days old, I think I should have tried all of this as soon as I brought the new chicks home. The reason is that they tend to wander more for some reason (but that might have to do with the warmer weather so idk) which is why we have Nutmeg secured in a crate for now so her chicks can't run off. I think they'll all settle down alright though and get the hang of it, but I'm not sure the two mommies will be able to share space. Ash is very defensive, she attacks any hen who comes near. We'll see how things go. I'll update y'all again soon.

Putting in more chicks in the morning was likely a trigger, and all would have likely been fine until then,IMO.

 

[tori852]

Putting in more chicks in the morning was likely a trigger, and all would have likely been fine until then,IMO.

Gotcha, thank you for the reply. It's a bit of a learning process I suppose... we'll be able to handle it a lot smoother next time now that we really know what we're doing.

 

[aart]

Yeah, it was quite the chicken rodeo!!!! Baby chicks EVERYWHERE. I will keep "the younger the better" rule in mind next time.

They were under a brinsea ecoglow at the breeder's place, and a ceramic heat emitter here. If you're not familiar, the ecoglow looks like this. It mimics a mother hen because the chicks have to hide under it to get warmth. Image isn't mine, I found it on the internet.
View attachment 1332234

Was wondering if they were under a light or not.
So that rules that out.
Am familiar with the ecoglow, I faked one, love them.

Well, kudos... you worked it out, should go smoother if you try that again.

 

[tori852]

Was wondering if they were under a light or not.
So that rules that out.
Am familiar with the ecoglow, I faked one, love them.

Well, kudos... you worked it out, should go smoother if you try that again.

Yep, should go a lot smoother. Thanks!

 

[Life is Good!]

Tori - I'm so glad to hear it's working out!

We too have hens would would reject chicks if they were the 'wrong' color...who knew?! But thankfully for your situation - yes, having the chicks be able to get away from demon Momma was a blessing!

Icelandics are terrific birds! Lyle Behl shows them every year at a local Rare Breed show near me. Every year it's really tempting, but thus far I've only gotten the Java's (new rooster annually so there's fewer genetic issues in my backyard flock). Perhaps this year? Hmmmmm! Because yes, it's a LOT of fun to see what hatches out. Uh-oh, I sense chicken math coming on! LOL.

And yes, I've found that a hen doesn't seem to count her chicks - unless there is only 1 or 2...then she knows. Above 2 and it's all just little legs and peeping! So, so cute to hear Momma answer her chicks in the nest box at night! Who knew that chickens cooed their chicks to sleep?! One of these seasons, I should record those noises...so, so beautiful!

Best wishes on their continued growth! Never dull 'round the barnyard in springtime!

 

[tori852]

"Demon Momma" is a good way to put it. But she keeps trying to be broody! I got my dad to tell me the rest of the story, apparently the chicks were already running away from her before he added more because she only had one underneath her when he checked in the morning. So she just sucks.

I really like our Icelandics, they're so neat! Not many people have them so I'm glad to help conserve the breed. And I especially love that I get the looks of a mixed flock but they're all the same. I think they're a bit more wild then other breeds though, but it's hard for me to tell since these are our first chickens and I have nothing to compare them too.

Anyway, the mommy chickens and their babies are settling in really well. The chicks bonded great and don't mix the moms up, and the moms are mothering them nicely. It's the cutest thing, I love the noises. We close the coop during the day so the other chickens can't get in and disturb them, and both moms are uncaged. They each picked a half of the coop. Both sides have a feeder, and theres a big waterer in the middle. The moms don't mind the other's chicks getting too close, but they will not tolerate each other. The dominant one, the first broody, beats the other back to her side if she comes closer than is deemed appropriate. But they're coexisting alright. It'll be interesting to see how it goes when they're all released into the run... they're not ready yet though. Our coop is about two feet off the ground and I don't think the little chicks would be able to get up and down the ramp just yet.

And you're 100% right, there's definitely never a dull moment...

 

[aart]

but it's hard for me to tell since these are our first chickens and I have nothing to compare them too.

You certainly have jumped in with both feet!

Our coop is about two feet off the ground and I don't think the little chicks would be able to get up and down the ramp just yet.

I have a 'training ramp' I use for chicks.
I also lined the run with 2' high 1/2" HC to keep them from getting out of the run.

 

[techbsmith]

Congrats on the successful grafting!!! It's awesome to hear the chicks and momma's are all doing so well I wish I had a couple of broody hens that could have helped me with the 13 chicks I'm raising right now!