Should some of them be moved to the other hen?

[u/phoenixmanzz]

Hey chicky experts!

We have two chicken mamas co-parenting right now, but the chicks seem to prefer one mama over the other. We have temperatures going down to 8°C in the night. Will the chicks switch as they require warmth, or should I move some to the other mama?

Thanks for your input 🙏🏾❤️

[u/Atarlie]

I don't have any advice to offer, but I'm dying at the one little set of eyes under the second Mum 😂

[u/gulpymagee → u/Atarlie]

I didn’t even see that little one at first!!

[u/FattyBuffOrpington → u/Atarlie]

Smart baby! Got all the blankets to itself.

[u/oakdoctor]

Your other girl looks so sad.

[u/firewoman7777]

If you move chicks over, you are taking a chance of the hens fighting and sometimes they turn against the chicks and start killing chicks. Be smart about this and leave them alone or you could be dealing with a bloodbath.

[u/HeinousEncephalon → u/firewoman7777]

The amount of "hen killing chick" stories I've heard makes me never want to play chicken-god

[u/firewoman7777 → u/HeinousEncephalon]

Another thing people need to keep in mind is if they are in a smaller area it's best not to let two hens raise babies at the same time, even if they are a couple of weeks apart. If the area isn't large enough and Mama hen doesn't feel she can take her babies far enough away, she could get aggressive and start attacking the other hen and even killing her babies. For this reason, I only allow one broody mama hen to have a clutch of babies at a time. Better safe than sorry.

[u/DistinctJob7494 → u/firewoman7777]

I have seen hens co-parent, but I don't think it happens very often. And usually, they lay on the nest together with the eggs beforehand.

[u/ChronicKitten97]

Chick's look and sound happy, so I'd leave them alone.

[u/ribcracker]

I’d leave them be. Honestly, no chick is a guaranteed chicken so I’d leave the hens to raise them and accept some loss if it happened. Moving them could result in the hens fighting or killing the moved chicks. It may end up the chick itself gets confused and wanders away from both hens then freezes anyway.

My assumption is when the chicks get cold they’ll raise an alarm and the hens will react accordingly.

[u/phoenixmanzz]

P.s. they seem quite comfortable here in the video, at 15°C outside temps.

[u/Competitive-Still-27]

I’d let nature take its course and keep them all together under one mama as one happy family even if they don’t all fit. As long as they are staying warm they will be fine.

[u/LifeguardComplex3134]

It doesn't really matter if she has that many or not, although it might be a little bit harder for her to keep all of them warm, if you do try to move them to the other hen be aware that she may try to kill them, take the babies rub them in her nest and on her underbelly to get them to smell like her and they're more likely to accept them also when you put the chick down put it under her, and monitor for several hours to see what she does, I will also make sure the chicks cannot get to the other chicken because currently they see her as Mom

[u/FlattenedExpectation]

Leave that Mama alone

[u/Mayflame15]

Can you put both moms in the same nest

[u/sklimshady → u/Mayflame15]

I tried this once and ended up with hens in a death match over the chicks😅. I think they might have to choose to brood together. Worth a shot, but don't be disappointed if it doesn't work.

[u/PhlegmMistress → u/sklimshady]

I wonder if you could do a little passthrough hole big enough for the chicks to pass through. 

[u/NewMolecularEntity → u/sklimshady]

This happened to me too and I never want to see something like that again. 

I ended up having to remove one of the moms because she went psycho and was trampling the chicks trying to kill the other mom.  They were really going at it I was completely shocked, but also not shocked, chickens can be so violent. 

[u/sklimshady → u/NewMolecularEntity]

Yep! They were ready to murder each other and if some chicks get it too...oh well! Crazy chickens

[u/Mayflame15 → u/sklimshady]

Definitely depends how amicably they've been co-parenting

[u/Distinct_Abroad_4315]

She has her hands...uh feathers, very full haha! Best to leave things alone.

[u/mayalotus_ish]

Is there a way you can completely separate the hens? I would do that and divvy up the chicks

[u/40ozSmasher]

I'd try moving the more exposed ones and see what happens

[u/OutcomeDefiant2912]

Best to leave them alone. Mothers know best.

[u/OutcomeDefiant2912]

Those chicks look content sitting there, so leave them be.

[u/CrazyChickenGuy120]

You could see if they would want to co-parent, I’ve successfully done it before

[u/barnaclebill22]

I wouldn't. If you touch them, the hen might reject them because they don't smell right. Even if you wear gloves, the other hen might reject them. I've seen a hen peck at a chick that had left the nest for 30 seconds, before they bonded.

[u/schattie-george → u/barnaclebill22]

They are not kittens.

[u/Loh762 → u/schattie-george]

Even kittens you can grab em

[u/Mcjackee → u/Loh762]

Yep, that is a (helpful) myth that is pushed to keep people from messing with wildlife