oh so many different ages and problems! Help?!

[mommaofmany]

I've got a broody who is currently nasty, and sitting on eggs that are not hatching because she refuses to lay anywhere but on some mesh.

Ive got five 13 day olds, that I bought from a museum farm, and they have been free range with mama until a few days ago when I picked them up. Are they too old to slip under her? (I ask because I know if she thinks they are her's she will protect them. And they have managed to escape the brooder a few times)

Ive got another batch (6) that hatched in May, actually exactly two months today. and I don't know when to introduce them, especially with the mama being as mean as she is at the moment!

 

[canesisters]

Is the broody the only adult chicken you have? What sort of setup do you have? Where is the brooder that they escape from? Where is her nest spot? Could you move her and her eggs to somewhere else? Like in a large pet carrier? Or in the brooder (and move the 2week olds)?

The 2month olds are probably old enough to go in with the flock. I've got 4 that hatched Memorial Day weekend. As soon as they were a month old I started letting mama take them in the run for short visits. After a week or so, I just left the gate open between the 'nursery' and the rest of the run. They've done fine - no trouble avoiding the older hens when necessary. But add a separate feeder and waterer as far from the main one as you can (just in case).

The broody will most likely not accept 2week old chicks. If you want her to hatch eggs, you're going to have to move her to a more suitable location. If you don't - just keep removing the eggs every day. She may get the idea if there's never anything to sit on.

 

[mommaofmany]

well my father in law built our hen house for meat birds. we threw a few nest boxes in there when noticed her going broody. I have no way to reach her at the moment because she is on the far side of the house.

I have five hens and a roo that are all a year old ( broody hen included)

At this point I don't want her broody anymore, because we don't have the setup for it ( they are in the works, but we were going to let it happen if it was going to happen)

My two month olds are currently in an old rabbit hutch

the little ones are a in a large tote like thing that we thought was tall enough (obviously not for these guys, but before we've used it nicely)


I can basically shift everyone ( two month olds in with the big guys, littles in the hutch) but I am afraid of broody mama and the 2 month olds

 

[canesisters]

If she is truly broody, she won't care one bit WHO is nearby - she's not coming off that nest except for a quick snack and a giant poo.
However, it's a little bit of a worry that there is somewhere in your coop that you can't reach. What if someone died back there?? Or a snake got in and was sitting back there?
I would suggest adding the oldest chicks to the flock and watching closely for a while to make sure that they're not getting bullied tooo badly from the other adult birds. Once they're settled in (a week or so) then just take the eggs away and keep taking them. She might finally get the idea and give up.