Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[NanaKat]

 
Instead of taking her to the babies, take the babies to her.  Put them under her at night.  You might let her settle from the first attempt.  Let her back in her broody nest and poke the babies in under her rear end in the dark.  Be there at first light to see how she has adjusted during the night.

I'll have to try that when I have a safe place for a broody to have chicks.  The house she is broody in, is not safe for babies - which is why I took her to the brooder box in the garage with the turkeys in it.  I really need to get some broody-safe houses built so I can let them do their thing and decrease how many I have to incubate and brood in the house.

After a broody hen has settled over her adoptive chicks for a night in her nest, I have been able to place her and her chicks in a floor pen the next day. The pen is a portable set up about 24 to 30 x 36 inches that is 30 inches tall made from recycled freezer shelving....big enough for a nest of hay, feeder and waterer and wood shavings to cover the dirt floor in my hen house.
For the first several weeks she will teach them to eat, drink, dust bathe and answer her calls. I offer greens and treats as well as chick feed and layer pellets. It is surprising how quickly the chicks eat everything in sight.
The rest of the flock adjusts to her mothering sounds. I then begin opening up one end of the pen for the hen to take her chicks on trips in the hen house and soon outside. She returns to her pen with her chicks or picks a site in the henhouse herself. She defends her chicks from other hens.
Hopefully by then the rains will have let up some. We are having the same problem in Oklahoma that you are having in northern Texas....too much mud for young chicks.

 

[bnjrob]

Could you just section off a space encompassing her nest? It would only be temporary... til the weather is nice and the chicks are eating well.

No, not safe for the babies to go to the pasture at this time. Too much mud and standing water in the pasture and none of the pens that have broodies in them are safe for small babies. All of our pens are mobile, so built differently than a regular coop and pen set up, and most are not safe for tiny babies.

 

[Beekissed]

Woops! I waited too long and my Blosl White Rock has appropriated the Sussex's eggs. Now I have to get another nest going and move them both to the 12' X 12' coop that I'm readying for the 12 day olds in the storeroom. It's going to be my broody house. Maybe I can slip some of the 'bator chicks in after they hatch.

I'd try it and there's really no time frame you have to wait in order to do so as long as she's a determined broody. I normally slip them under cover of darkness and keep the nest darkened completely until I can get back out to the broody pen and monitor interaction when I take the cover off the nest. I've never had any rejection of chicks doing this.

 

[Beekissed]

Instead of taking her to the babies, take the babies to her. Put them under her at night. You might let her settle from the first attempt. Let her back in her broody nest and poke the babies in under her rear end in the dark. Be there at first light to see how she has adjusted during the night.

I agree! Sit her back on a few eggs for a day then slip those babies to her at night, covering the nest in complete darkness until you can get out there the next day and monitor interaction. Should work like a slick whistle!

 

[Fentress]

After a broody hen has settled over her adoptive chicks for a night in her nest, I have been able to place her and her chicks in a floor pen the next day. The pen is a portable set up about 24 to 30 x 36 inches that is 30 inches tall made from recycled freezer shelving....big enough for a nest of hay, feeder and waterer and wood shavings to cover the dirt floor in my hen house.
For the first several weeks she will teach them to eat, drink, dust bathe and answer her calls. I offer greens and treats as well as chick feed and layer pellets. It is surprising how quickly the chicks eat everything in sight.
The rest of the flock adjusts to her mothering sounds. I then begin opening up one end of the pen for the hen to take her chicks on trips in the hen house and soon outside. She returns to her pen with her chicks or picks a site in the henhouse herself. She defends her chicks from other hens.
Hopefully by then the rains will have let up some. We are having the same problem in Oklahoma that you are having in northern Texas....too much mud for young chicks.

Fortunately, I am not having the weather problems that you all are having in the mid west, but I have worried about the same issue. My property is flat and poorly drained. Would the mother be able to keep the brood warm under those conditions? I think she could, if some elevated spots were provided for them to at least spend the night in. I release my brood to the flock a few days after hatch. It can be a little nerve racking, especially if the broody mom is not a dominant hen. Every thing tends to settles out after the first two days, though. The chicks might get pecked a few times, but it is not viscious and I have yet to have a chick injured. However, I do have lots of room, plenty of pasture and plenty of shelters for everyone to get out of each others way, if necessary.

 

[NanaKat]

I moved 12 four day old chicks out to a broody hen this evening. Miranda has been sitting on a smooth rock for the past two weeks in the corner of the hen house. Earlier in the evening, I set up a cage around her, placed food and water. She never moved from her rock. After dark, I simply slid the chicks under her wings and behind her rear in the corner.
She puffed up at me and tried to peck my hand but once the she could feel the first few chicks squirming under her wing, she was tucking them back, purring to the babies. She would peck at me as I brought down each handful of chicks not the babies.
Miranda is a great mom and is another Cochin Wyandotte cross like Mandy.. She is bigger and if all goes well with this first bunch, I have 12 more chicks in the brooder I will give her.

 

[chickadoodles]

Quote: Congrats on your broody hen!

I have three right now one hen and two turkey hens sharing a nest.

 

[Fentress]

I moved 12 four day old chicks out to a broody hen this evening. Miranda has been sitting on a smooth rock for the past two weeks in the corner of the hen house. Earlier in the evening, I set up a cage around her, placed food and water. She never moved from her rock. After dark, I simply slid the chicks under her wings and behind her rear in the corner.
She puffed up at me and tried to peck my hand but once the she could feel the first few chicks squirming under her wing, she was tucking them back, purring to the babies. She would peck at me as I brought down each handful of chicks not the babies.
Miranda is a great mom and is another Cochin Wyandotte cross like Mandy.. She is bigger and if all goes well with this first bunch, I have 12 more chicks in the brooder I will give her.

Looks like you have worked out a good system for yourself. Congratulations. I am still working my way through what will work best for me. Last night, I relocated one of my BR P's, although I guess she is a hen by now. She had settled when I checked on her this morning, so that is encouraging. The breeder told me that about 25% of the females would go broody. I think free range may promote broodiness, no real proof, just a fealing. I think using your breed stock for broody duty, would be OK. It might interfere with a breeding plan, on occassion.

 

[Beekissed]

I moved 12 four day old chicks out to a broody hen this evening. Miranda has been sitting on a smooth rock for the past two weeks in the corner of the hen house. Earlier in the evening, I set up a cage around her, placed food and water. She never moved from her rock. After dark, I simply slid the chicks under her wings and behind her rear in the corner.
She puffed up at me and tried to peck my hand but once the she could feel the first few chicks squirming under her wing, she was tucking them back, purring to the babies. She would peck at me as I brought down each handful of chicks not the babies.
Miranda is a great mom and is another Cochin Wyandotte cross like Mandy.. She is bigger and if all goes well with this first bunch, I have 12 more chicks in the brooder I will give her.

Don't you just love how they act once they realize you are not taking something from them, but putting something there? Not so mean once they realize there are little chicks appearing from nowhere, right under their butts!

What a blessing to have a good broody! I never realized just how much they contribute to a homestead flock until I didn't have any. Now I have three and I feel positively RICH.

 

[finnfur]

Looks like you have worked out a good system for yourself. Congratulations. I am still working my way through what will work best for me. Last night, I relocated one of my BR P's, although I guess she is a hen by now. She had settled when I checked on her this morning, so that is encouraging. The breeder told me that about 25% of the females would go broody. I think free range may promote broodiness, no real proof, just a fealing. I think using your breed stock for broody duty, would be OK. It might interfere with a breeding plan, on occassion.

Yes I know the feeling . When I got my five Kathy F4 Dels to laying stage I wanted to collect eggs to hatch.
Three went broody . Took forever to get a clutch of eggs . Then I was going to allow two to hatch a clutch but It was to late they gave up on me.