Help has anyone ever put chicks under a Broody hen?

[DianaMallory]

My BA is broody. So I decided this is the perfect time to add to my flock. I have watched videos on this but none of them covered weather you should isolate the hen from the rest of the flock. I am going to move her closer to the ground and away from the other nesting boxes. I was going to leave her in the coop. Will the other chickens leave the chicks alone? Or should I move her out of the coop? I have integrated flocks before and know how long that process is and a pain in the bum. And I don't want to go through that process again. Help!

 

[Rowsdower]

If this is to work, your best bet is to let her sit on some fake/infertile eggs for a week or so, let her get fully entrenched in broodiness. And the chicks that you add must be no more than a day or two old. Do the exchange at night, while she's sleeping. The other birds may try to pick on the chicks or they may get trampled in a small coop with lots of birds. How many birds do you have and how big is your coop.? The last time I tried to set eggs under a broody in the main coop, two eggs got pecked/trampled/somehow smashed at day 17. I'd try to contain them to some sort of cage within the coop if possible.

 

[DianaMallory]

My coop is 8'x8' I have plenty of room. I have 11 hens now. I want to add 6 more if all live then I will be at my max in the coop. And are you speaking from experience? Because I watched so videos and one said she had done it with up to 3 week old chicks.

 

[Rowsdower]

Nice coop. If I were you, I would get a bit of hardware cloth and fence off the little area beside the pop door and under the loft/poop board. That will give your other girls time to get used to the chicks while also offering some protection...and it's removable afterward.

 

[DianaMallory]

Nice coop. If I were you, I would get a bit of hardware cloth and fence off the little area beside the pop door and under the loft/poop board. That will give your other girls time to get used to the chicks while also offering some protection...and it's removable afterward.

Thank you that is what I think I am going to do. I found a tote to make a nesting box into. That will put the chicks lower to the ground So I don't have to worry about them get back into the nest with mommy. I think cost wise I am going to use chicken wire inside the coop. I have hard ware clothe over windows and screen door. And the pop door is locked down every night. And the man door is closed and locked. And the run is enclosed with hardware clothe. I live in the woods and we have fox, coons, and coyotes to worry about. My girls only get to free range about an hour before bed time. When I am watching them.
But back to the putting chicks under a broody hen, Have you ever done it before?

 

[Rowsdower]

I started to say chicken wire, but I worried your little ones might get through/stuck or that your older girls might be able to peck through it.