A little back story... I have 4 RIR chicks that are about 5-6 weeks old and have been in a brooder box in the coop for the last 2 weeks or so. About a week ago I started letting them out into the coop in the evenings and locking the adults out. Over the weekend I decided to open the coop up and let them venture out into the run. They've been doing great. The adult hens don't seem to pay much attention to them, except one of my Buff Orpingtons. Last night I went out to round up the chicks and put them back in the brooder box for the night and one of my buffs was still out in the run with them. It was just starting to get dark and all the other hens were roosted. This is definitely out of the ordinary. So, while I'm trying to herd the chicks into the coop, the Buff runs in between me and the chicks and gives me the stink eye. Then she herded them all into a corner of the run. It took me a few minutes but I finally got the chicks in the coop, she followed right behind them. She stayed on the floor of the coop until I had the chicks locked in the brooder, then she jumped up on the roost. My Buffs are definitely the broodiest birds of the bunch and go broody often, but I never would've thought one would 'adopt' 5 week old chicks! Has anyone seen this before? Should I keep a close eye on her? Maybe she's going to bully them instead of mother them?
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