I have a first time broody bantam Cochin that is exhibiting some bizarre behavior. Background: I tried to break her for 2 weeks, was unsuccessful. Gave her some eggs, went the full term and they did not hatch. Worried she had been broody so long I gave her two baby chicks at night, she rejected them. Decided to give her another set of fertile eggs, another 21 days later two hatched.
Now is where I'm concerned. After a couple of days she keeps leaving Her broody nest area that I have fenced off (jumping up and flying through the top). She comes back and checks on them periodically but seems to want to be in the run with the flock. I tried to graft them to another hen with chicks and she intervened and attacked the other chicks. She keeps them warm at night because I put them under her. If I didn't she would probably leave them.
Do you think I should let her have the chicks in the run with the flock? Worried that the big girls might hurt the babies, although I do have a caring rooster. Is it because she was on the nest for almost 9 weeks before anything hatched that she is just over it? When I hold the babies (and scold her for leaving them) she will fly up in my lap to watch me hold them. She is motherly to them, but just leaves them quite a bit. Luckily I'm in SoCal and its been a warm winter. They are healthy and becoming rather independent due to the absent mother, they are 10 days old now.
Or I can keep the chicks in their broody run and let her access them when she wants? Any advice would be appreciated! I find myself spending hours checking repeatedly and telling her to go back to her chicks! I force her to get in the broody run and she will do it for about an hour then fly out. She will look at me rather sheepishly as well when this happens.
(I originally did try putting them n a dog crate and she freaked out and kept trying to fly out repeatedly hitting her head on the ceiling. She did the same on the broody run in the in my main run I made, until I took the top off) needless to say its been a process
) and they are MASSIVE!!!They are bigger than both of my pekin cockerels(not a surprise really), both of my cream legbars, and my vorwerk who I've always thought was huge! The thing is, they've been bigger than her since 10 weeks old and they just keep growing! And they run standing up really straight, like those funny ducks. Sometimes, they remind me of a game breed.
