What Would Happen If...

[wbruder17]

I let nature take its course...as in, let the broody hatch the eggs in the coop with the rest of the flock? Would the other birds bother the babies? Or could Mama successfully protect the babies against 18 other hens and a rooster? I always remove broodies wiith their clutches to hatch in a broody pen.

 

[Judy]

I have a broody pen and either don't use it or let mama and chicks out after 2-3 days, when they are pacing to join the flock. So far, the mamas have had no trouble protecting the chicks from the other hens. Roosters have been protective of the chicks and mamas.

It doesn't always go this way, I've read, but for the 6 or 7 mama / chick families I've had, it has.

 

[Animalian]

I'm also interested in this.

I have a 10month old broody on two eggs, she's at the bottom of the pecking order too. But I only have three other hens and the boss is a 'gentle leader' who pecks newbies lightly but attacks other hens if they attack new pol pullets!

I can move her and the chicks to a rabbit cage when they hatch if I need to but if it rains badly the is a chance the floor could get wet in there.

In the coop they would be much drier and warmer. I'm even thinking putting pin-less peepers on the other hens as a precaution could that be a good idea?.

 

[saladin]

Alot depends on the breeds you keep, the amount of space in the hen house, etc.

Only time I allowed this to happen the other hens ate the chicks as fast as they dried out and ventured out from the hen.