Multiple hens laying in broody chicken nests

[KakawKakaw]

Brilliant!

 

[bcatfish]

I'm wondering if everything went well? I have multiple broodies right now and would like to have them together in a shared run. How long did you keep the hens and chicks in the dog crates after they hatched? Also, could the chicks fit through the bars? Will the mamas attack the other chicks?

 

[whatsthequestion]

I'm wondering if everything went well? I have multiple broodies right now and would like to have them together in a shared run. How long did you keep the hens and chicks in the dog crates after they hatched? Also, could the chicks fit through the bars? Will the mamas attack the other chicks?

Everything went well, however, I did have to make some adjustments.

First, yes, chicks can come through the crate bars, and you will need cardboard or something around the bottom parameter to keep them in. The indoor brooder, that I made from a dog crate, has hardware cloth around the sides and is attached to the door as well to keep them in. This was infinitely easier than dealing with the cardboard long-term.

I had so many chicks in one crate that it became incredibly crowded for the mom, feeder, water, and chicks. I found myself having to go to the coop multiple times a day to check for overturned waters and feeders. I tried attaching them in a variety of ways but was not having success. This is where Plan B came about.

Because of the way my roost/poop boards are designed I have really clean space underneath them and decided to put in dividers (see picture) with easily removable doors and create individual brooding spaces underneath. I made nest boxes out of sturdy cardboard boxes and reinforced the bottom front doorways with a piece of wood. It worked brilliantly! I was able to attach the waterers in such a way that they couldn't be turned over. Because the size was larger, I only had to do a quick daily tidy, taking out visible poop, and a deep clean once a week. The only con to this for me is that I have bad knees and had to keep a knee pad in the coop to care for them.

We kept them in the brooders for about a month then began gradually letting them out in the coop to see how everyone got along. By 6 weeks they were out full time and began taking them outside. I would go to the coop three times a day to check waterers and would let my hens out at different intervals at first. I tried letting them all out at once initially and my French Copper would fiercely attack chicks that were not her own if they came into her space, so yes, this could definitely happen. The other two hens would actually watch one another's chicks when one would go outside for a few minutes and their chicks also pajama partied in one another's nest boxes. As I began letting them all out again my Barred Rock gave the French Copper a hefty pecking and the aggressive behavior settled down and they started staying out together. By 6 weeks I no longer closed the brooders up at night and by 8 weeks all of the mothers were back on the roost and their chicks with them. My head rooster was very protective of the young ones outside which was an added bonus.

As I shared earlier, I had never let my hens hatch eggs preferring to brood them myself, so this was definitely a trial-and-error experience. Ultimately this worked out well. It is nice letting them be in the general population because the integration process for the chicks was super easy and avoided the heavy pecking that can happen when you introduce new chickens to the flock.

I hope this helps.