I have 6 buff orpingtons for laying eggs, this spring I want to take 2 of them and hopefully one hen will brood pheasant eggs and the other to brood quail eggs. I have a 5X5 closure for roosting then it opens to a 5x8 wire closure then a door so they can be let out to free range. My question is do you all think I can brood the 2 hens in the same inclosure at the same time? I will need to build brooding boxes on the ground for them and of course seperate feeding and water for these 2 hens. The reason I want to brood the quail and pheasants is I have heard that they will learn from their mother what to eat and such which will make their survival much greater.Thanks
You can't make them go broody but when they do, it seems they all want to go that way. Some broodies are very protective and will fight anyone that gets near them or their chicks. I separate my broody from the flock both to prevent others from becoming broody and because she is very protective and I wanted the rest of the flock to be safe. You can brood them in the coop and be fine but there are side effects (listed above) of that. Here is a great thread so you can find out what you didn't know that you wanted to know before you take the plunge: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/496101/broody-hen-thread/2670 Good luck in whatever way you decide to go with them.
*My question is do you all think I can brood the 2 hens in the same inclosure at the same time?* Yes, but when the eggs start hatching you need to insure the hens & chicks can't access each other's nests cause those are big hens and very small chicks of 2 different breeds and 1 slight peck from the other hen can easily kill a chick if it should wander into the others nest.
