Mamas fighting over chicks :(

princessmama

Songster
10 Years
Apr 2, 2009
269
7
129
We have two bantam cochin hens who we could NOT break from being broodie
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so we "let" them hatch some eggs. They were just about a week apart hatching and we put the first mama and chicks in a little make-shift pen in the coop because the next box is up high with no way for the chicks to get down (we are using an old coop that was on the property when we moved here). A week later when the other chicks hatched we took the mama and five chicks out of the pen and put the new mama and three chicks in the pen. Figuring the week old chicks were strong enough to dash back under mama should any of the big chickens attack them.

A week later I let out the second mama and three chicks. And those two hens started fighting like crazy! They took one look at each other's chicks and attacked each other. I watched them for several minutes, then grabbed the second mama and put her and her chicks back in the pen. I was afraid the chicks would get trampled.

The pen is really small and I would love to let the second mama out into the coop. Do you think they will just keep fighting?
 
Yes, I would think they will start to fight again. It is ingrained in the momma's mind to protect her chicks and if you should mix them again, somebody is going to get hurt. Unless you have a very large pen, I would keep them separate.
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I had the same sort of thing with a mom with 7 one and a half week old chicks and a mom with 3 one day old chicks. Today, a week later, I tried it again and the agression subsided. I didn't leave them unattended though. Now I am in the house and they are separated again. Don't worry about a small space, it is only a little bit of time.
 
Ok, I will just keep her in the pen for now. I may try again at the end of the week and see what happens.

Thanks for the replies!
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