Cute pic gotta love watching them learn. X2 on the broodie mind set. MY current broodie buff is the wimp of the flock and has been for life. But she got up yesterday for fermented mash and water and the red who is the roost boss was sitting on her eggs. She jumped up and gave her a peck so the red left the box!I forgot to encourage you about this post.
A broody I had an Arucana named Smokey was so tiny and quiet and let everyone near her and her new chicks the day they hatched. I worried about her ability to protect them. Then the WL roo walked over to one welsummer chick, picked it up, and flung it a bit. It turned out to be a rooster so maybe he knew that early he'd have competition. At any rate Smokey jumped up and attacked that rooster and made such a fuss he stayed clear away from her. And nobody went near her or her chicks without retribution. I didn't worry about her anymore.
I had a broody named Topsy who was the tiniest silky and last in the pecking order. I worried about her until I noticed her teaching her chicks how to avoid the larger higher ranking girls. She did defend her babies a couple of times, but overall her strategy was avoidance and it worked well. So I quit worrying about her.
Those two broodies are now in chicken Heaven, but they taught me that I can trust the protective instincts of the broody momma.