Video Showing Introduction of Day-Old Chicks to a Broody Hen for Adoption

[centrarchid]

Will be trying to do several of these over coming months. Most will have nothing to do with chickens, but clearly some issues to work out. Narration is tougher than I thought.

The hen and chicks were all synchronized such that no worries even with simply plopping chicks on hen during daylight. Will try to do another when broody hen or chicks outside the optimal window for imprinting.

 

[centrarchid]

It is dark now with hen and chicks sitting quietly. Tomorrow they will be tested for being a cohesive group by releasing them to forage in the backyard.

 

[NewBoots]

How many chicks did the hen have of her own and how many did you add? I'm hoping one of our chicks will grow up to be a good broody.

 

[centrarchid]

In this case she had one. It would have worked the same if she had none. I try to limit the number a hen raises to be no more than 10.

 

[nao57]

Can you imprint any laying hen to adopt chicks? Or does she have to have already had one on her own?

Will imprinting chicks on a hen that's barely laying age and hasn't even been broody work?

Curious how this works.

Neat post! Thanks for pic.

 

[centrarchid]

Can you imprint any laying hen to adopt chicks? Or does she have to have already had one on her own?

Will imprinting chicks on a hen that's barely laying age and hasn't even been broody work?

Curious how this works.

Neat post! Thanks for pic.

Hen cannot be in lay to imprint. She does not require a chick of her own to imprint. Hen must be broody to imprint. Additionally, hens I have worked with must be at least 2 weeks into the incubation process to imprint on chicks. It is not as easy or reliable when hens less than 18 days into a spell of broodiness. Once the 18 day mark is past, so long as the hen in broody on nest she will be open to imprinting with chicks. The period can be as long as 6 weeks. Once hen leaves nest the openness to accepting chicks of any age starts to close. Chicks need to be with the hen to keep the window open that long. A hen with chicks off nest for more than a week are not good candidates for accepting additional chicks.

Hormones mediate the process on hen side. Somehow the hen has a way of estimating time so she automatically gains capacity to imprint. The hormone prolactin is what gets broodiness starting, but what changes to initiate imprinting I have not seen in literature. Prolactin itself does not promote accepting chicks alone, but it is essential in keeping then hen broody.

I will try to link a paper later that details the broodiness part fairly well.

 

[centrarchid]

Here we test and solidify bonds between chicks and broody hen.

Broody hen trying to get my daughter to provide eats. Hen really gets into her face. It would probably be easy to get hens to learn to give a more obvious signal. This behavior is very similar to feed bucket aggression and may be the same.

 

[centrarchid]

Brood now foraging in backyard among brush and along edge of yard. She and brood spend most of time in brush upper right of image.

This hen had four chicks added 7 days prior following same procedure. She and brood stay within shadow of house at all times.

This hen with only two of her own chicks.

The latter two are full-siblings to first. This gal now roaming all around house and about 50 yards into apple orchard.

 

[lizo97]

Will be trying to do several of these over coming months. Most will have nothing to do with chickens, but clearly some issues to work out. Narration is tougher than I thought.

The hen and chicks were all synchronized such that no worries even with simply plopping chicks on hen during daylight. Will try to do another when broody hen or chicks outside the optimal window for imprinting.

@centrarchid I feel like the hatchery (store-bought) chicks have difficulty imprinting because they are not exposed to mom after hatching (and possibly before hatching)?