And then there was one

[Charitylb1576]

We started off with 4 chickens and a mallard a year and a half ago and after a single coyote attack, (on our front porch with lights on right in front of us) we lost 2 chickens and the mallard. So it was just the 2 of them for almost a year and my Wyandotte was my great layer and my Barred Rock was my lovey dovey one. Well, we had a raccoon find the one weak spot and dig it's way into the coop and pulled my Barred Rock out and killed her (not before she pulled a lot of it's fur out). We are down to the single Wyandotte and she hasn't seemed to be stressed about losing her buddy(we think she secretly planned it as she has always been the oneriest one). We got her 6 hatchlings and none of them ended up hatching, which she was a great momma sitting diligently on the nest and being a good broody hen waiting for them to come. Now day 26 and no chicks, we are wondering if we should get her 3 day old chicks if she would accept them as her own. We can tell she wants to be a momma.
Side note, we tried to get Pekin ducks and introduced them as instructed, the other hen was fine, she would not warm up to them and was constantly picking on them so we had to rehome them as she started beating them physically up.
Will she do that to the chicks? I'm afraid she is lonely?! She loved her buddy and they would race to get worms when they were let out to free range( it was funny). But she is much more affectionate now and is more talkative than before, obviously. Any advice?
Sorry it's so long.

 

[Aunt Angus]

We started off with 4 chickens and a mallard a year and a half ago and after a single coyote attack, (on our front porch with lights on right in front of us) we lost 2 chickens and the mallard. So it was just the 2 of them for almost a year and my Wyandotte was my great layer and my Barred Rock was my lovey dovey one. Well, we had a raccoon find the one weak spot and dig it's way into the coop and pulled my Barred Rock out and killed her (not before she pulled a lot of it's fur out). We are down to the single Wyandotte and she hasn't seemed to be stressed about losing her buddy(we think she secretly planned it as she has always been the oneriest one). We got her 6 hatchlings and none of them ended up hatching, which she was a great momma sitting diligently on the nest and being a good broody hen waiting for them to come. Now day 26 and no chicks, we are wondering if we should get her 3 day old chicks if she would accept them as her own. We can tell she wants to be a momma.
Side note, we tried to get Pekin ducks and introduced them as instructed, the other hen was fine, she would not warm up to them and was constantly picking on them so we had to rehome them as she started beating them physically up.
Will she do that to the chicks? I'm afraid she is lonely?! She loved her buddy and they would race to get worms when they were let out to free range( it was funny). But she is much more affectionate now and is more talkative than before, obviously. Any advice?
Sorry it's so long.

She might accept the chicks, and she might not. It's worth a shot. Just be prepared to raise them in a brooder if she does reject them.

Do you have a plan for how to put them under her?

And were you able to make your coop secure?

 

[Charitylb1576]

She might accept the chicks, and she might not. It's worth a shot. Just be prepared to raise them in a brooder if she does reject them.

Do you have a plan for how to put them under her?

And were you able to make your coop secure?

Not yet. I was going to research it before I ordered the chicks. Any advice would be very helpful. Thanks

 

[Iluveggers]

If she’s been sitting 26 days, I wouldn’t wait too much longer to try chicks. Get them as young as possible (preferably just hatched). Put them under her after dark in the nest, make sure she doesn’t react. Get up super early before sunrise, and go out and watch to see how she does once she can see them. If she pecks at them or acts agressive, they will probably need to go in a brooder, but you could try one more time after. Good luck!

 

[Charitylb1576]

Thank you. The earliest I can seem to find them is 2 days old, which I think will be fine. The other day I was watching a video with a hen with chicks and the hen was making sounds and she actually came over and jumped on my lap, which she has never done before. She was looking everywhere for the chicks. I took that as a great sign! Wish us luck!
Thanks for the advice!

 

[Iluveggers]

Thank you. The earliest I can seem to find them is 2 days old, which I think will be fine. The other day I was watching a video with a hen with chicks and the hen was making sounds and she actually came over and jumped on my lap, which she has never done before. She was looking everywhere for the chicks. I took that as a great sign! Wish us luck!
Thanks for the advice!

Good luck, please let us know how it goes! Two days old should be fine…some people try with week or two old and those babies are not always interested in a momma!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Another bit of advice:

When you put them under her, sit in the coop in the dark for a while and listen. You should hear mama clucking happily and babies trilling back to her. If you hear silence, that's usually a bad sign. I usually sit until I hear the happy talking. Unless it's a Silkie I'm putting them under. Then I just put them under her and walk away - lol! Best. Mamas. Ever.

Just be prepared to raise them yourself if things go awry. But you can always try again the next night. Just be sure to put eggs back under mama before you take the babies out.

 

[Folly's place]

I would also rub some feathers or bedding from your coop on these chicks, in case scent has anything to do with her accepting them.
Mary

 

[Charitylb1576]

She might accept the chicks, and she might not. It's worth a shot. Just be prepared to raise them in a brooder if she does reject them.

Do you have a plan for how to put them under her?

And were you able to make your coop secure?

Well, unfortunately things didn't go as planned. We tried all the advice we were given from the first night we got the chicks through night four. We rubbed her bedding and feathers on them, took an egg out and replaced it with a chick. She wasn't feeling it. Then on day 4 we lost a chick. Our Lavender Orpignton came to us looking kind of rough and right away we could tell that Pearl was the runt of the nest. She was so sweet but never quite sure footed. I contacted the hatchery immediately and they had me give her some scrambled egg. It did make her rally for a day or so and then early morning on the 4th day I went to check on them in the kitchen as they were all awake super early. And Pearl had passed at some point overnight. It was very sad. My 2 girls (6 & 16) and had grown quite attached to the little gray puff ball.
We had a nice service for her and she is buried on our acreage with the other pets that have passed over the years. It was definitely a hard sad day.
The other 4 are doing wonderfully and growing so fast. Our Hen is not a happy camper about them being around. She met one and immediately went to peck it and I had to grab it before she could.
She has been a little testy since and been laying inconsistent and trying to hide the eggs from us. I built part of the pen with a barrier to get ready to start to integrate the chicks in a couple of weeks. But 1st we will try it when she is outside her pen. I built her and the chicks a special shelter for this winter, so hopefully by the time the snow hits they will all be friends!