Broody!! OH NOOOOOOOOOO~ have pics to explain my questions~~~

[ilovemydog]

alright well these pictures are just to show my flock..and the white EE is the nest where my BA is trying to go broody..the BA took over and is now in there 24/7.

My questions are ..is i have a box i can move her in the coop would this be a good idea to do? Because that nesting box she is in is loved by all the other chickens soo...

i have the box and i have a closed off section in the coop as you can see.

ALSO HOW DO I MOVE HERR?

would this be okay?

ALSO ..is it bad if i have mutts? i could care less..i just want them to atleast be cute and pretty!! HERE IS most of my flock would the chicks look, fine?

Also i know this question may not be in the right place! BUTT..

Would it be okay if i move these chicks in with the bigger chickens there are 8 of them.

 

[Tripp16]

Not sure about your broody mainly because I have never had a hen go broody. But your question about the chicks they look pretty mature I would start to slowly integrate them in with your big flock. Just my opinion.

 

[Melinda35]

I would definitely move the 8 chicks in with the rest of your flock. They look plenty big. Then can you move the broody over to that pen? My thought is when they babbies hatch she can safely leave them to eat and no one can add eggs to her nest. At least that is what happens with me. Otherwise just separating her in the coop would be fine.

 

[ilovemydog]

I have 2 roosters will that matter with the chicks yall are telling me to move?

 

[In His Service]

Your broody will need to get up at least once a day, to eat, drink and make a ginormous "broody poop". When she is up, the others will try to get into that nest and lay their eggs, which makes it very difficult to tell which eggs she has been incubating, and which are new. Also, the battle over the favorite nesting box may result in broken eggs. For these reasons, I would move her if possible. However, I am not sure how well she could get into and out of the box in the photo. It looks like your coop is divided...maybe you could move her, nest and all, into a sectioned off area (so chicks would be away from the other hens ) and either replace the nest or move the others down, so the other hens could resume using the favorite. When you move her, or when she gets up to eat, etc, is you can , mark the eggs that she is sitting on now. Check back daily and remove any eggs that are not marked, as they would be other hens laying in her box.



As for integrating the young ones, they should have somewhere to get away from the older ones if necessary. There will be some fussing and squawking over establishment of pecking order, you have to let that happen, but if blood is drawn, move the young ones back out. I usually try to let the two groups free-range together for a while if possible.

Those are nice looking chickens, good luck. Be sure to post pics of the chicks when they hatch!

 

[Melinda35]

The roosters should not bother the chicks. Make sure they and the other hens can see the chicks for several days before letting them out together. I just let out 4 chicks with 4 bantam roosters and 18 hens. I put the chicks in a wire cage in the coop for two or three days and then let them out. I had to speed things along due to a cold front coming and possible rain. I wanted the chicks to be able to get under the roof part and not get wet. There was no fighting whatsoever going on even with that short of time. I do still have the cage in the coop with their food and water and the door only opened enough that the chicks can get in there for refuge if needed. They are usually in there every morning eating and then free ranging the rest of the day.

 

[johnsons-r-us]

"ALSO ..is it bad if i have mutts? i could care less..i just want them to atleast be cute and pretty!! HERE IS most of my flock would the chicks look, fine?"



No it is not bad if you have mutts! Some "mutts" are even sold as other things....like "sex links". They are just crosses and from what I've read lay really well. As long as you're not showing then it makes no difference. Eggs are eggs!