Help! Flock attacking my broody!

[dianneS]

I have a hen that went broody a few weeks ago. I've had to separate her from the flock in a dog crate because the other hens were pushing her off her nest and causing her to bounce from nest to nest and none of her eggs were developing.

Her last batch of eggs rotted... infertile. I gave her new eggs and hoping these will hatch. However, since she's been separated from the flock, the others now see her as an outsider. When she gets off her nest to eat and drink the big girls attack her. Not viciously yet, but they pick fights with her. This broody is a bantam cross and smaller than the rest too.

She's a great mom and I don't want her to get killed. What can I do? As long as she's still broody, I can't force her to rejoin the flock, even if I do move her back into the coop. If she does successfully hatch some chicks, what if the others try and kill her AND the chicks?

I never had this problem before... this aggressive behavior has only begun since I purchased some red stars and commercial black chicks last year... they are the instigators.

 

[dianneS]

Any help?

 

[HEChicken]

I have a separate small coop and run that I use as my broody coop. When a hen is broody, I can put her in there on her nest with her own food and water and that way the others can't kick her off, and she can eat/drink at her leisure. After the chicks hatch, I leave them all in there together for awhile. The rest of the flock can talk to them through the wire but don't have access to hurt the chicks. I leave it up to Mama Hen to let me know when she's ready to be released. My first broody was close to the top of the pecking order and by the time the chicks were a week old she was ready to get out. I watched carefully at first but none of the rest of the flock dared to mess with her or her chicks and she raised them all very successfully as fully integrated members of the flock. However my most recent broody is a Sultan who is low in the pecking order. Her chicks are 2 1/2 weeks old and she still seems very content to stay in the broody coop, so I'm letting her until she wants out. She seems far less stressed when she doesn't have to worry about her chicks being messed with, and its only a few minutes a day to top up their food and water.