Laying Hens Take Turns to Relieve Broody Hen??

[Farmin Armen]

Hi Farmin Armen, I just finished reading your thread and was wondering what happened with Brenda’s chicks. Did you end up putting them in the brooder with your other chicks?

Hi @KauaiChickenMama ! Sorry for the late reply! Life in the semi-urban homestead gets busy. Click the hens, feed the dog, prune the fruits, clean the poop, realize that you have a day job and your late for it, etc... you know how it is.

We decided to keep the chicks with their mama. I let them take over the entire run. The coop has a separate run under it, so I kept my flock contained in there. We kept the two groups separate like that for six weeks. Then, we opened up both sides for mixing and mingling. I’ll say that Brenda was a strong mama - keeping her chicks safe. The chicks are resilient compared to the ones I was brooding. At seven weeks, the chicks were picked up by my friend, and I replaced those seven with the 6 that I was brooding. It was a little sad, because Brenda tried to adopt those chicks. She kept trying to call them over. Brenda brooded over them (or tried to) for another week until she rejoined the flock.

One picture is of the chick we did keep. It’s something Barred, but I’m not sure. The other picture is of the multi-generational flock.

Either I appreciate the Backyard Chicken community for helping me on the journey.

 

[KauaiChickenMama]

Nice! Thanks for the update and the pics too. Beautiful birdies!

 

[Farmin Armen]

Nice! Thanks for the update and the pics too. Beautiful birdies!

Thanks! I love my birdies. They’re on Instagram as well. I have the same handle.