acceptance

[davecash]

say i have rhode island red hens, and i bring in another breed of chicken little chicks, will the rhode island red accept the chicks and protect them as her own?

 

[missusduray]

Only if she is broody. I am not sure that a hen that isnt broody will accept baby chicks. Maybe someone else has more info for you.
Kristyne

 

[davecash]

okay im new to this chicken buisness, what does broody mean?

 

[missusduray]

Broody means that she wants to sit on a nest of eggs and hatch babies. Kinda like baby fever for humans.
Kristyne

 

[missusduray]

You might want to check out the info links on the BYC home page. There is a lot of good general information on there. Welcome to the board!

 

[silkiechicken]

Only a broody hen will accept chicks and protect them if her broody timer has gone off(sitting for at least 2 weeks). Else you risk her or non broodies just killing all the chicks. The type of chicken doesn't matter and if the broody is ready. If you don't have any broodies, regular hens will hurt the chicks. You need to raise them up to about 3 months old before they can hold their own against the older ones. Even at that, you will need to integrate them and let some pecking go on because they will have to establish their own order.

 

[davecash]

do you know of anyone who sales hens who are about to lay, or whom have just started laying?

 

[missusduray]

You can check out the Buy, Sell Trade section of the forum and post what your looking for. You may even find someone local that would be willing to sell you some. Good luck.
Kristyne