My first time broody is doing a great job with her chicks. She keeps them warm when they need it, teaches them how to chicken, finds tasty things for them, including doing acrobatic jumps up to get them greens from the top of the poor shrub in their run, which is now bald within chicken reach but she has extra motivation to try to reach even higher
I'm proud of her (and I didn’t even think she’d sit long enough to hatch them!)
Whenever I go in the run, I sit down for a while to hang out with everybody, and every time she hops up in my lap and calls the chicks over, to try to show them that I'm safe
They won't come anywhere near me though, despite her best efforts. That's why I'm not keeping any of them, as cute as they are. They gotta pass the pet chicken test to stay here, and you just can't get that with broody-raised chicks.
I've noticed that she has stopped defending them as diligently, and is letting them learn chicken etiquette from their aunties. Who are more than happy to put them in their place when they decide to jump up and step in the feeder
Interestingly, the hen that was most harassed by the broody in the early days and most afraid of her, is now the harshest disciplinarian of the chicks. It's like she wants revenge, and she's enjoying it! She wants them at least a foot away from her while she eats, and they squeak and run even if she just looks at them. I wonder if broody is starting to lead them down the road of independence in preparation for weaning. Nobody is getting hurt, so I'm not worried, it's just interesting how quickly the dynamics have changed in just a couple of weeks.
The chicks themselves have taken an interesting trajectory in terms of development, as compared to my brooder chicks, and even to their siblings that I raised in the brooder with mine - which came from the same barnyard mix from my friend's flock, so it's not a matter of specific breed differences. The broody's chicks have always been smaller in size, which I did not expect. They were less developed for the first week or two - less feathering, less independent behavior and adventurousness overall. Their siblings that I raised in the brooder were the opposite in that time period, and the most advanced in everything from all three groups - most feathering, largest size, and most varied and adventurous behavior (dust bathing, perching, exploring new objects, etc.) The broody's chicks have gained confidence since and are now on par with the brooder chicks in terms of behaviors, but they have far surpassed them in feathering out! They are almost completely feathered now, except for their heads and a strip down the middle of the breast. They have evened out with their siblings that I raised inside (which now have outdoor access in their new home). My partridges, on the other hand, have the least feathering of all, but are the largest in size. I only have one that is at the level of the barnyard mix chicks in terms of feathering - everybody else is a fuzz ball with wings and awkward spikes of quills here and there
Orpingtons are large and mature slowly, so that part makes sense. It's my friend's barnyard mixes that are interesting - same bunch of eggs split in two, the chicks even look similar visually, but the ones raised in the brooder developed so much faster than the ones with the broody (and she's a good mom!)
Here are the broody's chicks. I think the chipmunk is a girl, the penguin I'm not sure about but leaning towards boy, and the gray one has the biggest and reddest comb of all 3 groups and it looks as male as they come.
