# Housing multiple mama hens and chicks together in nursery pen ok?



## acsinos (Mar 21, 2013)

Right now, I have 5 mama hens hatching eggs. The first clutch hatched last night and we moved mama and chicks to a nursery pen successfully this morning. The pen is completely enclosed to thwart predators and probably 8 feet by 6 feet (lots of room). I made a shelter out of a rubber tub (stuffed it with straw and cut an access hole that both mama and babies can use) and the area is covered with a tarp for water proofing. 

The next hen’s clutch of eggs should hatch in about a week. Can I put the next mama and set of hatched chicks in the same pen with the existing mama and chicks I have in there now or will there be problems?

I plan to set the new mama and chicks up with her own “rubber tub house” on the opposite side of the pen, but, as this is my first experience with letting broodies hatch, I didn’t know how well the hens would tolerate each other or if they would try to attack each other or the chicks.

Any advice would be appreciated!


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## Cluckspert (Mar 12, 2013)

acsinos said:


> Right now, I have 5 mama hens hatching eggs. The first clutch hatched last night and we moved mama and chicks to a nursery pen successfully this morning. The pen is completely enclosed to thwart predators and probably 8 feet by 6 feet (lots of room). I made a shelter out of a rubber tub (stuffed it with straw and cut an access hole that both mama and babies can use) and the area is covered with a tarp for water proofing.
> 
> The next hen's clutch of eggs should hatch in about a week. Can I put the next mama and set of hatched chicks in the same pen with the existing mama and chicks I have in there now or will there be problems?
> 
> ...


I would say no. The reason being is that mother hens are very protective of their chicks and will do anything for them. If the hens were housed together and hatched chicks at the same time, then there might be a chance of keeping them together.


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