Adding day old chicks to a broody hen

[Trish1974]

Thank you for the update! Mother and babies are adorable! For future reference you may not want to "show" the hens the chicks before giving them to her. Its best to slip the chicks under the backside of the hen after dark. Congratulations!

 

[RainbowHen]

Good job! I would never slip a hen chicks in the dark. You can wake up to a bunch of dead chicks that way. Their mother instinct is high. They'll mother anything (as you saw). I've had broody hens try to mother 8 week old ducklings. Best to be there in case anything bad happens and I am glad you were! No doubt your 2nd hen would have killed or seriously injured the chicks. It happens. Way to go!

 

[ChelsieW]

Good job! I would never slip a hen chicks in the dark. You can wake up to a bunch of dead chicks that way. Their mother instinct is high. They'll mother anything (as you saw). I've had broody hens try to mother 8 week old ducklings. Best to be there in case anything bad happens and I am glad you were! No doubt your 2nd hen would have killed or seriously injured the chicks. It happens. Way to go!

Yeah, we were worried about the same thing. Waking up to dead chicks or something. I think this way worked out best and now Blueberry just seems uninterested. She's not pecking at them anymore.