Hen pooped in nest with new chicks

[rkinley]

One wonders how on earth they do it without us, lol

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

No doubt..
Keep us posted on how its going, and if ya can, pics...
Its bed time for me.. Congrats on the littles and i hope it all goes well...

 

[rkinley]

Update & question
So today has been very interesting. For the ease of telling the story, I will name my broodies Broody #1 & Broody #2

This morning, I discovered Broody #2's three chicks in Broody #1's nest. I moved them back home.

This afternoon, I discovered Broody #2 AND her chicks in Broody #1's nest.

I moved Broody #2 & her 3 chicks back home.

Should I mess with them at all? Is this normal? Do they need to be separated or are the 6 chicks just going to have 2 moms and it's no big deal? I'm considering pulling the nest boxes out of the nursery and just letting them all figure it out. The moms don't appear to be at odds with each other...

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Its perfectly normal for hens to co-raise chicks. If it were me, id leave em be as long as all are happy with the arrangement.... i usually leave the boxes so the chicks have a place to hang out when not under mom. In a few days theyll be out from under more during the day and will likely nestle down with each other in the boxes from time to time...

 

[rkinley]

Whew. This has been a nerve wracking experience. I'll be perfectly happy to let them do their thing.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

It really can be..
But most of the time its due to our own lack of understanding where their behaviour is concerned... as you watch them and learn more you'll relax. Untill you decide to incubate, if you havent done it already...
Keep asking questions here and take time to watch how they interact with each other and their surroundings and you'll learn a multitude of things from the cickens themselves .

 

[rkinley]

Yeah, I don't think I will incubate. I know there are lots of advantages to it but I really like the concept of the broodies doing the work, lol. I bought thesebroodies

 

[rkinley]

Oops, must have hit post by accident. As I was saying, I bought these girls as day old chicks and raised them. Had fun but really don't want to do it again. Also, I'm not really set up to buy an incubator in my current situation.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Dont blame ya at all, I love watching my broodies with their chicks..lol
Hatching is fun, but it can be stressful too. And keeping up with a brooder, well, you've already been there and done that...