Would it work? Or set up and baby chicks

[KCGirl]

we have two 1 year old hens that have gone broody (no Rooster) and I'm considering getting some baby chicks to put with them. I just dont think our current set up is condusive. What do you think? I do have a little chicken house with a tiny run area, but it's not within the hardware clothed run and no hardware cloth skirt (though we could add one).

All 9 chickens use top two nesting boxes, so that's where they are brooding. Run pic is the big girl run.

Many thanks,
Buffy and Mabel.

 

[DobieLover]

I would only let one broody "set".

Get/borrow/use the largest all wire dog crate you can find and tuck it under the poop board in the corner of the coop. Bed it down with a thick fluffy layer of bedding, make a well to form a nest positioned in the corner of the crate nearest the walls and put a handful of fake eggs in it. Toss an old towel over it to block off the top and one side (the one without the door). Toss your chosen mother out for a broody break and when she comes back into the coop to go back to her nest box, grab her out of the box and put her in the crate. This will be the maternity ward to which you will graft her.

Lock the second hen in a broody breaker and break her broodiness.
Every day, go out and remove the mother hen from the crate and toss her out for a broody break. Stay and do your chores and monitor her. When she comes back in the coop, guide her to the crate. Don't grab her and place her in there. Let her go in on her own, then close her in again. Repeat this daily until she willingly goes into the ward on her own.

At this point you can give her hatching eggs or you can wait 2+ weeks for her to 'set' the fake eggs before trying to graft hatched chicks to her. The problem with grafting chicks is twofold. The mother has to have set for approximately the amount of time it takes to hatch an egg before you attempt the grafting and it is hard to find chicks 3 days old or less on her "hatch" day. And they won't always accept the chicks.

The drawback of hatching eggs is you then have to deal with the cockerels you get from the hatch.

I wrote an article on broody hen management that you can read here for more details about how I manage them.

 

[wrathsfarm]

I would only let one broody "set".

Get/borrow/use the largest all wire dog crate you can find and tuck it under the poop board in the corner of the coop. Bed it down with a thick fluffy layer of bedding, make a well to form a nest positioned in the corner of the crate nearest the walls and put a handful of fake eggs in it. Toss an old towel over it to block off the top and one side (the one without the door). Toss your chosen mother out for a broody break and when she comes back into the coop to go back to her nest box, grab her out of the box and put her in the crate. This will be the maternity ward to which you will graft her.

Lock the second hen in a broody breaker and break her broodiness.
Every day, go out and remove the mother hen from the crate and toss her out for a broody break. Stay and do your chores and monitor her. When she comes back in the coop, guide her to the crate. Don't grab her and place her in there. Let her go in on her own, then close her in again. Repeat this daily until she willingly goes into the ward on her own.

At this point you can give her hatching eggs or you can wait 2+ weeks for her to 'set' the fake eggs before trying to graft hatched chicks to her. The problem with grafting chicks is twofold. The mother has to have set for approximately the amount of time it takes to hatch an egg before you attempt the grafting and it is hard to find chicks 3 days old or less on her "hatch" day. And they won't always accept the chicks.

The drawback of hatching eggs is you then have to deal with the cockerels you get from the hatch.

I wrote an article on broody hen management that you can read here for more details about how I manage them.

Very informative post..but I'm curious the reasoning for only letting one 'Set'?

If it's a space issue I would understand but having multiple broodys or momma's with babies isn't unusual, at least in my world it's not. I currently have 4 with littles and another sitting on eggs.

In my experience I find with having broodys together, the chicks interact, integrate and grow out together and on occasion if one broody ends up weaning early, the other will take over looking after the weaned chicks. Not always the case, but it's happened here.

I have yet to experience co-parenting or co-broodys, I'd like to witness that sometime.

 

[DobieLover]

post..but I'm curious the reasoning for only letting one 'Set'?

It's a space issue, first time broody issue, first time broody manager issue. Managing more than one on your first time out isn't going to be a good idea.
I have extensive experience with broodies and I've had disastrous results letting more than one broody set at a time. It's just much easier if only one broody does her thing at a time.

 

[wrathsfarm]

It's a space issue, first time broody issue, first time broody manager issue. Managing more than one on your first time out isn't going to be a good idea.

Understandable...thanks for your insight. It's always appreciated.

I have extensive experience with broodies and I've had disastrous results letting more than one broody set at a time. It's just much easier if only one broody does her thing at a time.

Yes, it can be a bit trying at times juggling them around especially if they both are over protective. It creates that much more added chaos.

Always value and welcome your thorough expert advice.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Very informative post..but I'm curious the reasoning for only letting one 'Set'?

We all have our own experiences. Dealing with living animals means we have different experiences with different results.

If you read enough posts on here you see plenty of examples where they have multiple broodies, each with their own nests or chicks with no problems. You see posts where multiple broodies are co-hatching on the same nest or working together to raise the same chicks. It can happen like that with no problems.

But occasionally there are problems. One broody hen decides to take over raising another hen's chicks in addition to her own even if there is a week or two difference in the chicks ages. They fight over them and one wins. Usually no chicks are injured in these fights. Maybe a broody kills the chicks being raised by a different broody. A broody may kill chicks as they hatch under a different broody, whether sharing the same nest and eggs or from a different nest.

I had one hen that had just gone broody leave her nest when she heard chicks peeping under a different broody as they started to hatch. She left her nest and fought the other broody to take over her nest. They destroyed about half of the hatching eggs in that fight, every one they destroyed had a living chick in it. I was not amused.

I have yet to experience co-parenting or co-broodys, I'd like to witness that sometime.

Then by all means go for it. A lot of the time it works out great. I don't have any statistics but I'd think it will work out most of the time. There are a lot of people on this forum that co-parent broodies a lot. But when you deal with living animals you do not get guarantees. You can get different results. Some people are more risk-adverse than others. I am less willing to have multiple broodies after what I saw.

 

[KCGirl]

I would only let one broody "set".

Get/borrow/use the largest all wire dog crate you can find and tuck it under the poop board in the corner of the coop. Bed it down with a thick fluffy layer of bedding, make a well to form a nest positioned in the corner of the crate nearest the walls and put a handful of fake eggs in it. Toss an old towel over it to block off the top and one side (the one without the door). Toss your chosen mother out for a broody break and when she comes back into the coop to go back to her nest box, grab her out of the box and put her in the crate. This will be the maternity ward to which you will graft her.

Lock the second hen in a broody breaker and break her broodiness.
Every day, go out and remove the mother hen from the crate and toss her out for a broody break. Stay and do your chores and monitor her. When she comes back in the coop, guide her to the crate. Don't grab her and place her in there. Let her go in on her own, then close her in again. Repeat this daily until she willingly goes into the ward on her own.

At this point you can give her hatching eggs or you can wait 2+ weeks for her to 'set' the fake eggs before trying to graft hatched chicks to her. The problem with grafting chicks is twofold. The mother has to have set for approximately the amount of time it takes to hatch an egg before you attempt the grafting and it is hard to find chicks 3 days old or less on her "hatch" day. And they won't always accept the chicks.

The drawback of hatching eggs is you then have to deal with the cockerels you get from the hatch.

I wrote an article on broody hen management that you can read here for more details about how I manage them.

Thank you so much for the thoughtful, detailed response. Reading though your article next.

 

[KCGirl]

I would only let one broody "set".

Get/borrow/use the largest all wire dog crate you can find and tuck it under the poop board in the corner of the coop. Bed it down with a thick fluffy layer of bedding, make a well to form a nest positioned in the corner of the crate nearest the walls and put a handful of fake eggs in it. Toss an old towel over it to block off the top and one side (the one without the door). Toss your chosen mother out for a broody break and when she comes back into the coop to go back to her nest box, grab her out of the box and put her in the crate. This will be the maternity ward to which you will graft her.

Lock the second hen in a broody breaker and break her broodiness.
Every day, go out and remove the mother hen from the crate and toss her out for a broody break. Stay and do your chores and monitor her. When she comes back in the coop, guide her to the crate. Don't grab her and place her in there. Let her go in on her own, then close her in again. Repeat this daily until she willingly goes into the ward on her own.

At this point you can give her hatching eggs or you can wait 2+ weeks for her to 'set' the fake eggs before trying to graft hatched chicks to her. The problem with grafting chicks is twofold. The mother has to have set for approximately the amount of time it takes to hatch an egg before you attempt the grafting and it is hard to find chicks 3 days old or less on her "hatch" day. And they won't always accept the chicks.

The drawback of hatching eggs is you then have to deal with the cockerels you get from the hatch.

I wrote an article on broody hen management that you can read here for more details about how I manage them.

Hello! Did just what you said and am excited to announce Mama now has 3 little chicks! I read the article- great information. Thank you.

Just introduced them yesterday evening, and Mama and her 3 new chicks are still in the dog crate with the fur closed. Wondering if I can leave them there a while, but transfer them to the Youngsters Condo during the day to poke around ? Worried our set up will be tough for them to get into and out of the run on their own. And our roosting bars are so high, scared of them falling (or being pushed off) when under a month old..I'm sure Mama knows best. Also, I have unmedicated chick crumble and water in the kennel...will she eat that or do I need to get her out to eat/drink/potty in intervals since they are locked in? Should I worry about the others in the flock hurting them, on purpose or accidentally? Just had a fox start coming around, so we have the girls in the run when unsupervised. They get out about an hour in the am and 2 hrs at night. Let the new family with them?

Again, than you for helping us on this new journey! Incredibly grateful. She's such a good mama!

Attachments​

• Youngsters Condo next to Big girls house and run. Condo not predator proof.
• Youngsters Condo
• big steps down to get out/up to get back into Big Girls house from
• 

Currently here in the kennel inside the Blessed Nest Big Girl Hen House.

 

[kattabelly]

Are you able to move the "youngsters condo"? Very young chicks will find it easier to get around on shorter grass. Less risk of crop issues too, once they get big and strong enough to start eating it.

Adding more horizontal steps (treads? struts? I can't think of the right word!), or something grippy like shed roof felt, would help with the steepness of the ramp in there.