Hens fighting over chicks!

[greenmulberry]

I have two Ameraucana hens who were both brooding a shared group of 14 chicks. They each hatched eggs but were raising the chicks as a group. Anyway, at one week, they are fighting!

It seemed to be getting out of hand and was more than a disagreement, chicks were getting stepped on and they didn't even notice that I refilled the feeder.

I took the hen who seemed to be the instigator and was also the least concerned for the chicks during the fighting, and locked her out in the run by herself. The other hen quickly called the chicks over to eat. They don't seem to distinguish between each other's chicks.

Is this what I was supposed to do? Will the mean hen go back to "normal" when her broodyness breaks outside???

 

[Ridgerunner]

Many people successfully let multiple broodies work together to raise chicks, but sometimes what you saw happens. You did right to separate them. I had a Black Australorp raise 15 chicks last summer, so yours should be able to handle 14.

The hen will go back to "normal" when she breaks, whatever normal is for her. I'll give a link to a thread about breaking broodies if that helps.

Break a Broody Thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2176186#p2176186