The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Eeyore77 on July 24, 2020, 11:32:21 am
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Hello,
could you give me a bit of advice please?
We got a broody hen to hatch successfully this year and her chicks are now 8 weeks old and almost as big as she is. She has now started laying again and is not showing much interest in the chicks.
They have been outside under shelter continuously with no more heat than from their mothers brooding, but most can’t get underneath her now if she does brood them.
When would you suggest taking her away from them?
We are in Aberdeenshire and it’s typical summer weather here (sun/wind/rain/sun/hail/sun/gales/sun and all before 9am :D) so they should be fairly hardy.
Many thanks.
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I think it will happen gradually by itself. No need to intervene. The hen will go off and do her own thing, as will the young ones, once they are confident.
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I’d just leave them to it.
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The only time I separate is if the hen has had enough and the chicks are to small to be in an uncovered run. Just leave them to it
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You can just put them in separate runs (where they can't see each other) for 3-4 days and they will forget about each others existence.
If you want her to start laying and perhaps go broody again. Otherwise just leave them together.
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Thank you all,
they are in a pen so she’s not got the luxury of wandering off on her own and she has started laying again now. I’d say she is definitely in the category of being fed up with them.
I’ll pop her into another pen over the weekend and that’ll be it for this years hatching.
Thanks again.
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Hi just to say you were right about her being fed up and the chicks not paying any heed to her leaving. I opened up the pen to move them and the broody ran off straight off like greased lightening from the chicks to the big pen where most of the rest of the hens are and danced around the door till I let her in. Not a backwards glance :D. Chicks all fine and you’d never know they’d had a mum!