Who's got a broody hen?

[MageofMist]

My Silkie hen has gone broody again, leaving her poor rooster to sleep alone. XP When he isn't with his hen, he is much more relaxed and docile, so I just picked him up and carried him to rest with his children from the previous hatch she brooded, they are about 2 months old and picked on the rooster at first due to his more laid back temperament, though after I poked them and pushed them a little a few times when they pecked on the rooster's comb and wattle, they soon learned to stop and instead started cuddling up to him and being cute little marshmallows.

I guess they were getting revenge as the roo did chase them yesterday when out on the yard. I am hoping to use the hen being preoccupied with her 4 eggs to get the current chicks and the rooster to bond.

The roo and chicks have successfully bonded, as this morning he ran in to see them after I let him out and was putting the chicks out, and instead of chasing them or pecking them, he started watching over them and trying to call them to food. Soon the babies will realize that the food chuckles mean the roo has a tasty treat for them.

 

[OmahaChicks]

I have a broody Cochin hen that I put some eggs under her last night. Someone let me have some Cream Legbar and Black Cooper Marans eggs, so I'm excited and I hope she does a good job. She did her broody growl at me when I walked up to her last night, but when I started to put the eggs under her she quieted down and started arranging them under her. She seemed quite happy

 

[meetthebubus]

aww she sounds like a proud mama to be!

 

[Redhead Rae]

I put my Dominique/Buff Orpington Mama and her babies out on grass yesterday. She was really happy and was showing them how to scratch and what to eat. It was so cute. I have them in a 5ft X 5ft run with a tarp lid that I used to put my now 16 week old Buffs out on grass when they were little. My FIL put door on the rubbermaid tote I made into her broody box and that is now their house. I have the PVC run weighted down with that stone paver in one corner (it is great for setting food and water on) and the brooding tote in the opposite corner. The sun starts going behind the hills around 7pm here and it starts cooling off, so Mama bundled herself and her babies inside the tote well before dark. They were fine in there overnight. Having these new babies with a Mama is SOO much easier than worrying about new chicks in an artificial brooder. We have a smaller coop that we turned into a brooding house for chicks (we have 4.5 week old Delawares and New Hampshires in there now) and until they learned to go under the heating plate at night, I had to go out and check on them after dark to make sure they went under the heater plate instead of bunching up in a corner of the coop. I think I'm going to use mama hens to hatch and raise chicks whenever possible from now on. The chicks seem much happier too.