One of my hens all of the sudden became broody, so I wanted to see what would happen, and three weeks later the eggs hatched. So what do I do now with them? They are still in their hen box and doing fine with water and some starter feed. Should I make a new pen for my hen and seven new chicks or leave them alone. NOTE: I have 2 full grown roosters 11 full grown hens and 30 young chickens that are a few months old. I dont kno if they are a danger to the little guys or not but any help on the subject will be appreciated!
If you only have one broody to manage, she may be able to protect her chicks. The usual pecking order goes out the window when there's a broody hen. There is risk involved, though. You hen may turn out to be an indifferent mother, or may be distracted while one of the chicks gets too close to an adult. I think it's also a different calculation if you free range or have your chickens confined in a run. The more space there is, the more possible it is for confrontations to be avoided. I had three broodies raising three clutches, so for me there was really no question that I needed separate pens.
I kept my broody and her chicks in the coop but separated with chicken wire for a few weeks. So the flock got to know the newbies. After that her and her chicks have been with the rest of the flock. I have kept the wire up and the chick feed in there and a small opening so the little ones can get in but the big ones can't. Once I seen the little ones drinking out of the big waterer ( with help of a step up) I removed the water from the wired off area so now there is just food in there. Good luck enjoy them Rhonda
I've gone through 3 broodies now. I left them in a separate area for 2 days after they hatched. Then opened the door to the big world. I have 20 - year old hens, 13 teenagers and the 3 broodies with chicks. The mommas took their broods out at 2 days old and I've had no problems. The rooster is so proud of his chicks, he stands in the middle of them and just struts. None of the other hens will dare get near the chicks, mommas are mean. I do free range so they have all the room they want to roam.
I let my hen out in the yard with the 6 other hens I have when they were about 2 weeks old. Mama hen is VERY protective and would not let anyone near her chicks so for us it was fine. My guess is you will have to supervise and see if your Mama is going to protect her babies. My other hens learned pretty quick not to mess with the babies and even now at 6 weeks nobody goes near the chicks!
