This is my first broody hatch, first chickens even. They are all about 7 months old. I have three broodies that started about a week apart. The first set of eggs started to hatch today. I found another hen (not one of the broodies, but the highest in the pecking order) trying to kill one of the chicks. I put mom, babies, nest and all, into a crate, inside the coop. Will I be able to let them back together and when? I only have room for one crate and it isn't very big. I'm worried what to do once the other two start to hatch. Should I separate the trouble maker instead? I only have 6 total, 5 hens and one roo. The trouble maker and the roo are the only standard size. Thank you!
That happens... so you have to keep mom and babies seperate for a while. What I've done is put them in one of those huge tupperware storage containers. Mom won't leave her babies, so I just keep them in the house. The problems start when babies figure out how to fly out of the container. That's when you come home to a million baby chick poops all over your carpet. When the babies figure out how to get out, I move them back outside with Mom into a chicken tractor. I don't have a picture of my tractor on the computer but I can take one tomorrow if you'd like. Mom will start to get anxious when she's ready to leave the babies. That's when you know it's time to move her back with her flock and move the babies to their own facilities. As long as they are young, they will be picked on by adults, so they will have to have their own place until they can make it with the rest of the flock.
I could probably add a section to the coop and a second run, but will the three moms and babies be OK together? They have played musical nests, but no fighting between them. We are planning to build a bigger coop, but are still in the planning stages. I raised these chickens in the current coop. I have a brooder box I made for them, but they seemed to outgrow it in a few weeks. Thank you.
If they are doing fine rasing the babies together, then let them. I think splitting the babies between the three moms would distress the moms. Musical nests is typical, too. Just like in humans, baby fever is contagious.
