Our first ever hatch with a broody!

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

IMO watching a broody raise her young is the best thing about raising chickens. Enjoy. In about 6 weeks she'll act like she doesn't know them. What breed is that?

Yes! Our BCM hen has been incredible with the 12 chicks that she hatched! So patient, and amazing at integrating them with our grumpy poultry! Then, she laid her first egg in more than two months yesterday. It was like a switch flipped and she started pecking at her confused babies to go away. I found it so odd! And I was sad for the babies... Overall a great experience though!

 

[Kiki]

Congratulations!

 

[aart]

I am so far finding it so much easier to integrate chicks with broodies...

Can depend on broody and how well they deal with the flock, but when they wean the chicks is also where I see troubles.

Why do you find it easier with incubated chicks?

I have developed a great setup for integrating incubated or purchased chicks.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

Sorry to sidetrack your thread @Dr.Dale

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Can depend on broody and how well they deal with the flock, but when they wean the chicks is also where I see troubles.


I have developed a great setup for integrating incubated or purchased chicks.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

Sorry to sidetrack your thread @Dr.Dale

I’ve seen that before and it’s a great guide! And, I think that you suggested on a post a month ago that I let 9 Ball back to the flock when the chicks were 2 weeks, which I did and has worked well! I would guess that 9 Ball is particularly gifted. She was one of the lowest ranking chickens, but she managed her chicks so well and taught them how to avoid our “mean girls”, cowed the ducks into leaving the chicks alone, etc. In our case, she was invaluable at getting these chicks accepted by the flock and training them in our difficult flock politics!

 

[Dr.Dale]

Sorry to sidetrack your thread @Dr.Dale

No worries, not much content here. I just wanted to share my excitement with people that would understand!

 

[ValerieJ]

Fun to watch a broody and her chicks...but I'd almost rather integrate incubated chicks.

Why would you rather integrate? It's so fun and easy when the mother hen takes care of the chicks. I've only had this happen once, so perhaps I was lucky?

 

[ValerieJ]

That's the part I hate, they are so lost when that happens.

Ah, I missed this. I was lucky then. Shirl was with her chicks in an adjacent run and coop to the other chickens, so she was a happy little mama.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

My mama hen just decided that she’d had enough of 6 week old chicks yesterday, layed her second egg today. Chicks are already pretty chill about it. She’s roosting in a new place with hens close to her in rank while chicks have the roost that they’ve had for the past two weeks since integrated into coop/roost instead of nest box. That was part of what 9 Ball did so well, she was so patient with all of their shenanigans and slowly got them used to the roost over several weeks, like in this noon pic at about 3 weeks. The chicks are keeping away from most of the hens, but that was already the case when mom was involved. They might be more chill because there are so many - 12! At some point, I’ll be removing the cockerels to a tractor, but I don’t want to make too much disruption yet since chicks just found out that they’re in their own. I’d like to wait until their hormones make them too obnoxious to their sisters, so maybe two more weeks or so?

Anyway, congratulations to Dr Dale! We’ve found the broody mama experience to be a lot of fun!

 

[Dr.Dale]

So mama hen and chicks are in the brooder. I am finding out that our setup is designed for babies only and not well suited to having a big hen in there too. I am not sure what to do. I am concerned about the chicks out on the property. They are not big enough to use the feed and water stations we provide outside.

 

[aart]

So mama hen and chicks are in the brooder. I am finding out that our setup is designed for babies only and not well suited to having a big hen in there too. I am not sure what to do. I am concerned about the chicks out on the property. They are not big enough to use the feed and water stations we provide outside.

Do you have a run?
I'd open the brooder and let mama out with her chicks to begin the integration process.
They can go back into the brooder to eat and sleep.
Pics of your brooder and coop setup would help garner some viable suggestions/solutions