Is it a "Flock" or a "Brood"?

[Deaux Chicks]

I have my first 5 baby chicks, all female (I hope!) They are 10 days old. Being a new chick Mom, I talk about them all the time! My question is: Is it more proper to refer to a group of hens as a Flock or a Brood? When I was out for Mardi Gras it was a topic of one of our conversations. Most agreed that a group of female chickens should be referred to as a brood but hens with a rooster would be called a flock. This is not a biggie for me but is a curiosity. What do y'all say?

 

[PrairieChickens]

I always referred to broods as groups of baby chicks. I'm sure there's a specific perfect word out there for a group of hens, like how a group of cats is called a "glaring" and a flock of crows is a "murder". A flock of chickens to me is just a flock, whether or not it includes males.

 

[donrae]

Flock.

Brood is a verb, imo, not noun.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Brood can be a noun as well.

Just for fun, here's what the online dictionary says.

noun

1. 1.​
   a family of young animals, esp. of a bird, produced at one hatching or birth.
   "a brood of chicks"
   synonyms: offspring, young, progeny; More
   verb
   

1. 1.​
   think deeply about something that makes one unhappy.
   "he brooded over his need to find a wife"
   synonyms: worry, fret, agonize, mope, sulk; More
   
   
2. 2.​
   (of a bird) sit on (eggs) to hatch them.
   synonyms: incubate, hatch More
   
3. ​
   
   

adjective

1. 1.​
   (of an animal) kept to be used for breeding.
   "a brood mare"

Yes, reading dictionaries is fun for me. I'm a nerd. XD

 

[Mrs. K]

I too think of a brood, as young chicks. If the chicks are young enough to still need extra heat, as that they would get from a broody hen, or are living in a brooder, then they are a brood.

If a group of birds hangs together - they are a flock, with or without a male.

Mrs K