Depressed Mother?

[Tiny Turtle]

So, if anyone has been reading my posts they know I've been raising 2 barred rock chicks that my broody hen hatched, well we lost one to what I suspect to be a cat, we lost her a few days ago. The mother hen did what they do best and I guess moved their roosting spot to a safer place, but just 2 days ago, the last chick she had went missing, we saw no sign of her, no feathers, blood, or body. I think it was a cat that got her again. My mother hen went into the big coop area that we have set up for our older hens and perched there for the night, realizing she had no more chicks with her but as soon as they were let out in the morning she squeezed back into the small coop area which is where I housed her and my 10 week (more or less) chicks. She is walking around squawking and she didn't seem really interested in eating, is she searching for her chicks or mourning them?

 

[Shaunassy]

She might be calling for them. When I took chicks from my broody hen a few weeks after they hatched she "searched" for them all day and the next day still. But by the end of the next day she was acting normal again. Then a month later she was broody again. So now im just letting her raise the chicks until she decides they are old enough. To see her so distressed broke my heart.

 

[Tiny Turtle]

That's what I thought. It's saddening to see her calling for her chicks that won't come back. Well, I hope she feels better soon and eats better. I'm afraid I won't be accepting if they go broody anymore for quite a bit. I am good on chickens.

 

[Shaunassy]

I only le mine raise babies again because she was broody for over two months and despite me removing her from the nest twice daily to eat and stuff she was starting to look to thin. I tried everything to break her. I locked her out of the coop all day, put her on the roost at night, took the eggs daily, locked her in a cage with nothing but food and water for a few days, and tried setting her in water multiple times to break her and nothing worked.

 

[Tiny Turtle]

She must be really dedicated to being a mother. Sadly I don't have enough room to provide for more chickens though I'd love it, I haven't been raising chickens for more than 1 year or 2 and she was my first broody, so I just HAD to let her sit on them, so those 2 chicks were my first to be hatched, I'm not surprised they didn't make it, I'll just have to learn so I know what to do next time.

 

[Shaunassy]

I built a 16x16 enclosed broody pen (we had lots of wood laying around) in my older hens run and built a coop big enough for a hen and chicks that way the other hens could always see the hen and chicks. It makes intergrating the chicks easier, the hens dont forget the mom and it lets them get used to the babies until they are a few weeks old and then i let mom and babies out with the rest and she protects them and integrates them into the flock by the time she is ready to leave her babies. But the pen is enclosed on top with chicken wire too so nothing can dig in or come in from the top. Doing it that way ive never lost a chick maybe you can do something like that but on a smaller scale. We went a little excessive with a 16x16 pen. But it works great

 

[Tiny Turtle]

Oh boy I'd love to, but I'm not really allowed, it's not up to me to make the decisions, I can only put the decisions out there and hope for the best. My coop isn't really big enough to house anymore chickens, well, more like the perch is filling up. I have about 18 chickens at the moment (in my backyard) 1 being a barred rock rooster (a really sweet boy) and the big coop for my older hens is already filling up and I still need to add my 3 brahmas (if my scissor beak survives) and my 3 Ameraucanas, so that's my latest project, just widening the perches and then maybe one day I can build a bigger coop and a bigger pen for my chickens.

 

[Shaunassy]

Wow thats alot! I wish i could have that many, my coop is 8x4 feet and elevated off the ground but like you with all the birds i have its filled. I have 9 grown hens, 2 wyandottes, 1 rhode island red, 1 austrolop mix, 2 barred rocks, and 3 pure bred austrolops. Then I have 6 ameraucanas but only 1 wheaton and 1 black one are pullets. The other 4 are cockerels. 1 black, 2 blue wheaton, and 1 lavender. Im waiting for them to mature to decide which one ill keep. They all are beautiful and have a good disposition so far so it will be hard to choose. Then the two chicks im letting my broody astrolorp raise are to sexed pullet buff orpingtons chicks i got from a feed store at a day old. I put them under her at night and she adopted them.
But this is my coop we built and their run

Ignore the poop on the floor, have to clean it lol

In the last pic you can see mom and her babies. The others are free ranging but mom never takes them out of the run.

 

[Tiny Turtle]

That looks awesome 1 barred rock rooster, 1 bantam (not sure exactly, she was the mother hen), 3 buff brahma chicks, 3 Ameraucana chicks, 1 rhode island red, 1 wyandotte, 2 rock cross, 2 buff orpingtons, 1 leghorn (I think), 3 red sex link (I think, not sure) And I believe that's it, all of them are wonderful and I can't wait to get more one day, but I am good for now. Thank you for the help It's been nice talking to you.

 

[Shaunassy]

You as well no problem. Im glad I could help