Two Broodies with chicks

[Sahraschweiss]

I have 2 broodies that had a poor hatch. Both girls were very resistant to breaking, so I gave them each 3 eggs. I wasn't wanting to add a lot to my flock.

Cindy , BO, is my experienced broody and this would have been her 4th clutch in 2 years. She is a determined and excellent momma. Of her 3 eggs, one gave up, one didn't make it past piping, and the third was a successful hatch.

The other broody (Whitney --black sex-link)was a very determined first timer. Did not want to break, and after weeks of breaking any restarting, I decided to let her go for it as Cindy has decided it was time to have babies. Whitney refused to be in broody pin with Cindy and claimed the favorite nesting box.

That created loads of drama. Had to mark her eggs and remove any that might have sneaked in when she was on bio breaks. All 3 of her eggs were either duds or quitters. Between the two, we had 1 lonely chick--Solo.

Went to the farm store. They had a minimum of 6. Came home with 6 chicks. These by feathering looked to be 3-8 days older than Solo. Put 3 chicks with Whitney and 3 with Cindy.

Cindy saw the babies and pulled them under her immediately. No worries there. Slam dunk. Mamma Cindy has got it covered.

Whitney was confused. Growling. One her her 3 she seemed a little more aggressive with than the other 2. I pulled that one out and she seemed to settle down with the other 2 and starting purring. Showed the rejected chick to Cindy and up she lifts a wing and under it ran. Little mamma is saint!

So it's been 3 days since chicks. Whitney has her two in the main coop with the flock of 40. Whitney's chicks are playing on the feeder while full grown hens and roosters eat next to them with Whitney staying nearby with a watchful eye.

Cindy has been in the broody-look-but-don't-touch pin in coop with her her 5 chicks. The pin is across from Whitney and her 2 chicks. The chicks from both play with each other at door.

Since Whitney is doing so well with her chicks, I'm tempted to take the door off the pin and merge Cindy and her broody fully with the flock.

Good idea or disaster?

I've only been chickening since 2020 and have kept Cindy and chicks separated for usually 3-4 weeks before opening the broody pin. Everything is still a little new.

 

[DobieLover]

I have 2 broodies that had a poor hatch. Both girls were very resistant to breaking, so I gave them each 3 eggs. I wasn't wanting to add a lot to my flock.

Cindy , BO, is my experienced broody and this would have been her 4th clutch in 2 years. She is a determined and excellent momma. Of her 3 eggs, one gave up, one didn't make it past piping, and the third was a successful hatch.

The other broody (Whitney --black sex-link)was a very determined first timer. Did not want to break, and after weeks of breaking any restarting, I decided to let her go for it as Cindy has decided it was time to have babies. Whitney refused to be in broody pin with Cindy and claimed the favorite nesting box.

That created loads of drama. Had to mark her eggs and remove any that might have sneaked in when she was on bio breaks. All 3 of her eggs were either duds or quitters. Between the two, we had 1 lonely chick--Solo.

Went to the farm store. They had a minimum of 6. Came home with 6 chicks. These by feathering looked to be 3-8 days older than Solo. Put 3 chicks with Whitney and 3 with Cindy.

Cindy saw the babies and pulled them under her immediately. No worries there. Slam dunk. Mamma Cindy has got it covered.

Whitney was confused. Growling. One her her 3 she seemed a little more aggressive with than the other 2. I pulled that one out and she seemed to settle down with the other 2 and starting purring. Showed the rejected chick to Cindy and up she lifts a wing and under it ran. Little mamma is saint!

So it's been 3 days since chicks. Whitney has her two in the main coop with the flock of 40. Whitney's chicks are playing on the feeder while full grown hens and roosters eat next to them with Whitney staying nearby with a watchful eye.

Cindy has been in the broody-look-but-don't-touch pin in coop with her her 5 chicks. The pin is across from Whitney and her 2 chicks. The chicks from both play with each other at door.

Since Whitney is doing so well with her chicks, I'm tempted to take the door off the pin and merge Cindy and her broody fully with the flock.

Good idea or disaster?

I've only been chickening since 2020 and have kept Cindy and chicks separated for usually 3-4 weeks before opening the broody pin. Everything is still a little new.

I never allow two hens to set at the same time so I have no personal experience.
But when a hen brings her chicks into the flock has varied from hen to hen and I think it depends on her ranking in the flock prior to going broody, the ambient temperature and how many chicks she has. My birds have a 1/3 acre pen that they use that encompasses the coop/run set up so they have a huge amount of space to work with.
The more space you have, the better. Does your flock free range? I so, I see no reason not to let Cindy and her chicks out or at least open the pen up and let her choose. Stick around and watch the two broodies to make sure they don't fight. Or if another hen gets her beak in a twist and decides to go after one of them when there are two in the flock instead of just one.
Most roosters and higher ranking hens usually put a stop to any disturbances involving broodies and chicks but with two... I would monitor for a while.

 

[Lelilamom]

Cindy saw the babies and pulled them under her immediately. No worries there. Slam dunk. Mamma Cindy has got it covered.

Whitney was confused. Growling. One her her 3 she seemed a little more aggressive with than the other 2. I pulled that one out and she seemed to settle down with the other 2 and starting purring. Showed the rejected chick to Cindy and up she lifts a wing and under it ran. Little mamma is saint!

Congrats on getting a mama to take new chicks!
I've had three hens hatch at one time. I have a 4 x 8 part of the coop completely separated for my broody hens. I put all three in there at once, one in each corner, separated by chicken wire separators. It worked very well. I've used the setup on multiple occasions.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I would maybe wait just another couple days and continue giving both mama's more time to bond with with babies before letting them mingle.

 

[Yardmom]

I have had 2 hens hatch together a few times. 1 time the 2 sister hens Sat side by side the same day. They shifted the 3 eggs I let them have and hatched and raised the 3 together. My others have been on separate nests. A completely different story. I release my mothers and chicks into the flock around 3 days of age. Mammas usually have a scuffle with a hen or 2. Chicks learn to stay back. It lasts a short time and all is fine. When it comes to the other mamas and chicks some mothers become aggressive. Some mothers will chase and try to violently peck at other chicks. Some will focus more on attacking the other mom. I place obstacles around the coop for the moms to hide behind with their chicks. With my current pair I am keeping one set behind a fence for several extra days. One hen is near the bottom in pecking order. The other the top. The dominant hen will charge after the other chicks if they even go near the wire. If you release 2 mamas keep a close eye on the situation.