#1. So, It stared out, before she was broody, and I was incubating eggs in an incubator. She went broody with no eggs a week before hatch day, so when the 5 bator chicks hatched, I snuck them under her at night, and she fully adopted them as her chicks.
Well, once the chicks were only a week old, somebody decided to buy five more chicks from the feed store(that somebody was not me). Well I was like ok...she might take 'em. It was during the day, broody and her chicks were out and about, eating in their little coop. I just opened the box and let the new chicks out, they were walking around with the other chicks, broody was interested, but didn't really care, they came up to her and she just acted as if they were hers. At night, they all went in under her in the nest box, and all was well.
#2.Once they were in there......... I checked on them in the morning before I left, they were all eating, and running around. Checked on them when I came back home, the new chicks huddled in a corner, the rest were walking around. I took them and let them walk around, as soon as they came near the broody, she pecked them. When I saw this, i was pretty suprised
Why did she no longer accept them? and How are all the chicks still alive even when they've been pecked all day? ( this was late afternoon)
Then, they all got ready for bed and followed the mother hen into the nest box, she pecked the other chicks, and they would run out of the nest box. The ones she didn't peck, had already sneaked their way under her, and she was unable to reach them, so just gave up pecking those, but kept pecking others that tried to come in, until they too, had managed to sneak under her. She was totaly aware that those "other" chicks were under her, but she just gave up pecking them, because it was too hard to move herself around in the nest box to kick them out.
It is very easy to tell her chicks and the new ones apart, their coloring is much different(different breeds). It's almost like she is annoyed by them, as long as their next to her, she'l peck them. She doesn't like them, but tolerates them. Her chicks get along fine with them, Will the broody just get used to them? Should I take them out of there, and put them in a brooder?
Well, once the chicks were only a week old, somebody decided to buy five more chicks from the feed store(that somebody was not me). Well I was like ok...she might take 'em. It was during the day, broody and her chicks were out and about, eating in their little coop. I just opened the box and let the new chicks out, they were walking around with the other chicks, broody was interested, but didn't really care, they came up to her and she just acted as if they were hers. At night, they all went in under her in the nest box, and all was well.
#2.Once they were in there......... I checked on them in the morning before I left, they were all eating, and running around. Checked on them when I came back home, the new chicks huddled in a corner, the rest were walking around. I took them and let them walk around, as soon as they came near the broody, she pecked them. When I saw this, i was pretty suprised
Then, they all got ready for bed and followed the mother hen into the nest box, she pecked the other chicks, and they would run out of the nest box. The ones she didn't peck, had already sneaked their way under her, and she was unable to reach them, so just gave up pecking those, but kept pecking others that tried to come in, until they too, had managed to sneak under her. She was totaly aware that those "other" chicks were under her, but she just gave up pecking them, because it was too hard to move herself around in the nest box to kick them out.
It is very easy to tell her chicks and the new ones apart, their coloring is much different(different breeds). It's almost like she is annoyed by them, as long as their next to her, she'l peck them. She doesn't like them, but tolerates them. Her chicks get along fine with them, Will the broody just get used to them? Should I take them out of there, and put them in a brooder?
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. And sometimes it depends on breed too. For my girls both of them are first timers. The second one has started hatching eggs today. Hopefully she will be a better mother.
