Why does my chicken keep going broody?

[blyth-fox]

Every year or so my Frizzle chicken keeps going broody even though we dont have a cockeral?
Now we have got a baby chic what we think is a delaware (not from the frizzle chicken) but she does not like it and she will just peck it, why is she doing this?




My broody frizzle chicken^


The new chic^

 

[SIMZ]

Going broody is an instinct. It doesn't matter if there is a rooster around. With one of mine it doesn't even seem to matter if she has eggs to sit on.

It's also normal for bigger chickens to peck on smaller chicks. They will usually accept their own chicks or possibly young chicks if introduced to them while they're broody/sitting. It sounds like you'll have to do normal introductions and integrate your new chick when it's much older.

 

[blyth-fox]

Do you no how to introduce them,
Lavy (the frizzle chicken) came out this morning to see the baby chick for the first time, she went up to the cage and just stood there looking for a while and then pecked her threw the fence?
we only got the chic late last night, as we found her wandering the streets

 

[SIMZ]

You found her wondering the streets? Weird!

Do you only have the two chickens then? Lavy and then this chick?

 

[foxxy1997]

no, iv got an exbattery hen called Thyme, a watermeal bantam, lavy and the chick. so all together i have 4 chickens

 

[SIMZ]

If they're all big then I wouldn't introduce your new chick until she's about the same size as them (16 weeks?). Chickens tend to gang up on new ones anyway, and this little chick won't be able to defend itself against them. Hopefully, someone else can jump in here and give you some better advice from experience.

Search "introducing chick" or something like that and see what you get.