Ms. Frizzle went broody again this spring, just like every year, so I decided to make it a win-win situation for everyone and got nine fuzzy little chicks from the feed store for her to raise in her own private brooding pen in the barn. Ms. Frizzle took all those fluffballs under her wing immediately, and she is now the proud mama chicken of five assorted bantams, two Welsummers, one Maran and one Dark Brahma. Watching this peep show is great entertainment, so I snapped a few photos of the happy family to share.
After doing this three years in a row, Ms. Frizzle is a pro.
She gives the best foraging lessons and makes horrible dinosaur noises when we come near her babies. It’s scary and if I was a predator, I sure wouldn’t want to mess with them.
I am deeply grateful to this funny little chicken for raising the chicks for us once again. Without having to mess around with a heat lamp and checking in on the chicks all the time, I have more time to work on the garden and other homestead chores.
Thanks Ms. Frizzle. You’re one amazing, funky mama chicken.
I'm glad to see Ms. Frizzle accepts the babies that aren't her own. I sometimes have a broody hen, too, but I've never gotten her any chicks to raise. I was a bit afraid she'd attack them instead of caring for them. But maybe not, so perhaps I'll give it a go next year. Mama raised would be a lot less work for me than the heat lamp arrangement.
I was afraid she would reject the first chicks I gave her two years ago, and it went completely fine. The important thing is to keep them safe from the other chickens, who will attack chicks. Another mistake I made was giving her two chicks and then trying to introduce two more the next day. She completely rejected the new ones and I had to heat lamp raise them separately. It's really nice having a broody hen do the work for you, and it makes them so happy!