Worried for my broody

[Asaria1]

Hello all. I have a broody I am very proud of because she is doing such a great job sittig on her two eggs. But she is the BOTTOM of the pecking order. When she goes out for her daily poops/feed/water my other 5 hens all BULLY her. She puffs up and vocalizes, but she’s never been one to defend herself. She ends up running away in fear. I want to see her stand up against them, cause I know when the babies arrive next week she will need to defend them. Any advice?? Thanks in advance!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I always separate my broodies from the rest of the flock. It's too late to move them right now, but possibly using something to block everyone away from her might be an idea. Then, once the chicks hatch, place them in a new coop or something.

 

[-Flash-]

I always separate my broodies from the rest of the flock. It's too late to move them right now, but possibly using something to block everyone away from her might be an idea. Then, once the chicks hatch, place them in a new coop or something.

Exactly.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We moved our broodies just as the chicks were hatching. Not by design! We thought we had two or three more days before hatch and then we heard cheeping, so it was done in a panic with our hair on fire. One of us grabbed the broody and the other scooped up nest and infants into (don't laugh!) an inverted trash can lid, and with the children opening and closing gates and doors we rushed to get the family settled into the well house, which was the only other building we have. And then, as we were catching our breath, one of the children called out to say there was ANOTHER broody hatching, so we had to do it all over again! It was like Mother Goose meets Keystone Kops! We separated the families with a ginormous sheet of cardboard and all was well. Whew!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

We moved our broodies just as the chicks were hatching. Not by design! We thought we had two or three more days before hatch and then we heard cheeping, so it was done in a panic with our hair on fire. One of us grabbed the broody and the other scooped up nest and infants into (don't laugh!) an inverted trash can lid, and with the children opening and closing gates and doors we rushed to get the family settled into the well house, which was the only other building we have. And then, as we were catching our breath, one of the children called out to say there was ANOTHER broody hatching, so we had to do it all over again! It was like Mother Goose meets Keystone Kops! We separated the families with a ginormous sheet of cardboard and all was well. Whew!

Wow. That sounded fun. Sorry.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Wow. That sounded fun. Sorry.

No worries. It was pretty amusing once the panic abated. I thought at the time that it would have made an award-winning "America's Funniest."

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

No worries. It was pretty amusing once the panic abated. I thought at the time that it would have made an award-winning "America's Funniest."

Amazing too. More than one broody hatching at the same time? And all those chicks?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We ended up with 4 broodies (all Orps, thank you) and 8 hatchlings. Two of the broodies co-parented four of the babies.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

And one broody was vicious, not letting anyone near her baby or babies. I don't recall if she had one or two. I think only 4 made it to adulthood due to hawks.

 

[raingarden]

When a hen has chicks she becomes a different animal. Nobody will mess with her then.