Two broody hens

[Diannastarr]

yes exactly free ranging hens do fine ,i to have free ranged hens with there chicks in the past , but there is a difference between free ranging & keeping 2 hens with different age chicks in an enclosed space , i guess the original question should have been what is a safe size space to do that properly in with out risk, since the original question was if that would be a good idea, no size pen was given, but i for me i cant say yes thats a good idea in this type situations , i cant say what will happen , except that i would for safety sake not do that to begin with and try to give each hen their own space. i know its hard to move broody hens , but at least try to move them after they have hatched their chicks or at least move the mama hen with the oldest chicks to a new pen.

 

[Diannastarr]

Thanks for the advice I have decided to give it ago I will have a back up plan if it turns nasty but each chicken has more than double the space it needs. Fingers crossed it all goes well

ive got my fingers crossed & wish you all the best.! take care

 

[Diannastarr]

I've had many different experiences with multiple broody hens. I've not felt the need to segregate my broodies when my flock was small. Now that I have a larger flock I have considered it and am prepared for it, but so far I haven't needed to do so. With my last successful broody of shipped chicks, I did segregate mom with babies for a time inside a wired dog crate in the main coop but only while a black snake was attacking the flock. Once I dispatched the snake momma and babies were right back to freedom.

Most of the time when I'd have two broody girls they would be so focused on teaching their chicks that there wasn't much time to intermingle. Each broody would get her bunch to follow her somewhere to scratch and peck. Occasionally the groups would merge but only briefly as the moms would quickly hustle their perspective brood off to safety. Any squabbles would be fast and without fatalities.

I've had single broody girls, co-broody girls (a Silkie and Silkie mix who both hatched and raised two little "farm mix" chicks from my own flock), 3 simultaneous broodies (RIR hatched and raised two White Leghorns, Splash Maran who raised 4 shipped EE girls, and a Partridge Silkie who raised 3 shipped Olive egger chicks). And again, I didn't separate them because they separated themselves.

I did provide multiple chick feeding and watering stations. I attempted to micro manage their environments (force them to hang out or sleep in certain segregated areas) but they wouldn't have it.

Once the Silkie was trying to hatch at the same time as the Silkie mix and they kept fighting over the few eggs each had. So when one would leave the nest the other would go steal her eggs. You may encounter something like that. I ended up labeling the eggs to keep track of who had what. But it didn't matter in the end because as it got closer to hatch I shifted eggs to give both an equal amount to hatch.

good idea..! i had 2 broodies sitting side by side both best buddies & they hatched their chicks on the same day they were free range all the time & so i never had a problem with them , but i did have 2 broodies trying to take the other broodies eggs Ha & yes it best to mark the eggs .! its very interesting & i feel important for all of us to know as much as possible & to learn more about the natural process of hens & hatching chicks. i feel this natural process is important.

 

[Willie84]

ive got my fingers crossed & wish you all the best.! take care

Thanks diannastarr

 

[Willie84]

good idea..! i had 2 broodies sitting side by side both best buddies & they hatched their chicks on the same day they were free range all the time & so i never had a problem with them , but i did have 2 broodies trying to take the other broodies eggs Ha & yes it best to mark the eggs .! its very interesting & i feel important for all of us to know as much as possible & to learn more about the natural process of hens & hatching chicks. i feel this natural process is important.

I agree I do it to teach my kids and to learn myself. I grew up in an environment where we hatched chicks which eventually became food. A better way of life some may say

 

[Diannastarr]

I agree I do it to teach my kids and to learn myself. I grew up in an environment where we hatched chicks which eventually became food. A better way of life some may say

• 

yes i did the same to teach my kids , but we never ate any of our animals ,we are vegetarians but did eat the eggs & fresh goats milk and we had a great life , i split wood all summer long to heat the house in winter that i built with my own 2 hands, & heated with wood cooked on wood stoves , but only dead wood, out of respect for all living things trees included , i have lived that way all my life paying it forward and with respect for all life and the quality of the lives i have in my care..!! and i have been repaid in like kind with health & happiness, as i wish for you and your family as we all continue learning more about living our lives in balance on this planet i call earth school ..!

 

[bobbieschicks]

As far as broodies needing space when the flock is free ranged, my best broody girl, a Silkie, usually will keep her chicks close to the coop and will usually get the chicks out of the nest and into the floor in another part of the coop within the first week. Btw She and the babies will progress from floor sleeping to lower nestbox sleeping to lower roost sleeping and finally to upper roost with the flock, staying with the babies the entire time until she feels they are ready to be left alone.

The second week they spend time going in and out of the coop while the rest of the flock is out of the coop free ranging. The third week she will walk around outside under the covered run with them but still stay close to the coop. By the fourth week she will occasionally leave the safety of the covered run to free range with them for brief periods. Fifth week she will stay out longer with them and return during free range time to practice roosting during daylight hours. Sixth week is more of the same and less time with the chicks in close proximity.

My Silkie has yet to abandon her last clutch of two surviving chicks that are now 14 weeks old (4 were eaten by a black snake). But she has returned to laying and is with the general flock again AND her babies are right there too and do not require protection from the older flock members because they understand their location in the pecking order.