I have a broody Dominique that just hatched out five chicks today. Only two were pure Dominique, so I drove down to a hatchery today and picked up ten dominiques to try to give her to raise. I read you were supposed to put the chicks in a box where she can hear them but not see them for a few hours and then put them under her in the dark so she just wakes up and SURPRISE! New chicks! So that was my plan. I didn't expect any trouble with her because she is a very gentle broody. The worst she has done throughout this whole broody period is grumble at me when I candled her eggs. Anyway, just a bit ago I took the chicks out of the brooder in the house where they'd had starter crumbles and water for a few hours and I took the box out to the coop. I opened the broody box and started to put the box of chicks behind her waterer. She heard the peeping from inside the box and came up off that nest fast. She ran at me squawking and headed straight for my eyes. I dropped the box. She stood crouched over the box with her wings spread wide and squawked and glared at me. She started clucking at the box of chicks, but then she would start squawking at me again, back and forth. I reached over and tried to get the box and she pecked the snot out of me. I opened the box and the chicks all tumbled out peep-peep-peeping at her. She clucked to them and went back to the nest and crouched over her five chicks with her wings spread out. The ten new chicks walked over to her and started pecking at her feathers and she slowly shoved each one of them into the nest and under herself. Any time she was looking at the chicks she was doing that soft broody cluck and any time she was looking at me she was doing the highly agitated squawking thing. So, um, I gave up. After I closed the broody box back up the chicks all settled down to soft peeping and she was just doing an occasional soft cluck. I'm going to keep checking on her through the evening, but it seems like it's going to be okay, right? I mean, she acts like she totally wanted the chicks. This is my first time having either chicks or a broody hen so I don't really know what to expect. I just know that it ain't goin' like the book said it would.
There's 15 chicks under there!
Traci
There's 15 chicks under there!
Traci
Last edited:
