Does mama stay or go?

[phillyfarmer]

Wow! You have so many that are brooding! What are you going to with all those chicks? Those little chicks look so darn cute.

I can not probably keep the chicks. I feel I am at my limit. I would like to get rid of Ruby and Lola but minus two plus six doesn't really make sense!

Do you think I would have any luck with putting them on craigslist ?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I suggest you read this thread. It might help. Please pay attention ot the part about marking the eggs and checking under her daily for any new eggs if you leave her with the flock. That can save you a lot of grief.

Isolate a Broody? Thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=213218

It is an exciting time. Other than checking under her daily for any fresh eggs, I leave her alone and let her take care of things.

Good luck!

 

[Judy]

And here is a good article about broodies in general. I always have my broodies raise their chicks with the flock. Whe she stops mothering them, usually around 4 weeks, the others are used to them and there are no wars. Some have done the setting in with the flock and some have been isolated. There's more of a chance of broken eggs if you leave them, but it is not always a simple matter to move them. I have had a broody abandon the nest and stop being broody simply because I moved her while she was setting. If you want to try moving a setting hen, best to do it after dark and to move the whole nest or at least the nesting material with her. The only time I lost the whole hatch was from the broody killing the chicks. Good luck!

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Broody-Hens-1.html

 

[triplepurpose]

I agree, this article is a fantastic resource. Moving the broody is not always feasible. My solution is to move mine to the nest box on the end of the row (if she's not there already) and tack up chicken wire netting around the area immediately in front of the nest. I then put her in there with the eggs and within a few minutes she is happily settled on them. I've done this twice now. I've found they don't distinguish between the individual nest boxes, or don't care. This way I have a small area of floor space where I can leave food and water out for her all day, but the other chickens can't get in to eat her food or lay eggs in her nest or otherwise harrass her or mess up the situation, but the other hens can still go into the other boxes to lay as normal. Occasionally, while I'm out there, I find Broody pacing her chicken wire fence and talking, in which case I usually grab her and let her out for a few minutes (which is also a convenient time for me to dust her and maybe the nest too with DE as a precaution against mites).

I keep my mothers and babies separate from the rest of the flock for 4 to 6 weeks or so after hatching. Then I allow them to integrate. I have two dozen chickens, and I'm pretty sure the tiny babies wouldn't stand a chance in the fray come feeding time. I know others who do this too. At six weeks they are big enough they won't get trampled and quick enough that they stand a chance of grabbing some food or dodging the bullies. Try to arrange the integration in such a way that the babies and the mother are in the area where they will be integrated before the older birds are allowed in. Chickens are territorial and very aggressive toward "newcomers." Having the chicks already IN the area when the bigger birds arrive will give them a kind of home territory advantage. Or some people integrate them at night, because it tricks them all into thinking they are part of the same flock--personally I prefer being around to watch the integration, so I don't do this. Also, setting up the babies and the main flock for those first few weeks they are separated in such an way that they can still see and hear each other (eg, through a chicken wire fence) is helpful because then they already know each other by the time you decide to allow them to mingle.

Good luck!