Are you my mother?!

[Country Heart]

Has anyone out there ever let their broody chicken sit and hatch eggs that were something else? Duck, quail, turkey, etc...?

 

[geepy]

My best broody hen has hatched ducks, quail, turkeys, guineas and chicks. She's a banty and I would not sell her for anything. I can even give her somebody elses chicks to raise. Right now she has 22 chicks and 2 turkeys that she is taking care of. Her babies always are the friendliest also. She is the best mother I have.

 

[Country Heart]

Sounds like you have a wonderful mama hen. Can you tell me more about her experience raising the little ones? How long does she keep the babies once they are hatched?

 

[geepy]

She never really kicks them out. I have another hen that will leave the chicks at about three weeks. I try not to let her sit but she sneeks off sometimes.

Then I have to raise the chicks. I really have never seen nothing like my little banty. Her name is Pepper and she is about 10 years old. I have another broody that will attack you when ever you get close to the chicks, but Pepper just clucks at me. She is in a big pen with 2 rabbits and she will not let the rabbits near her chicks. They know to fear the Pepper.

 

[Cowgirl71]

A friend of mine had a hen sitting on four duck eggs. One of them hatched! I haven't seen it yet, but she says that the hen is trying to teach it to peck (and failing miserably), and the poor hen freaks out when the duckling wants to swim in the water.

So I currently have a hen sitting on another four duck eggs, to hopefully hatch out a friend or two for the single duckling, so that it can be raised by humans. I also plan in the near future to try putting Guinea eggs under a hen. I'll let ya'll know how that goes...

I have read though that waterfowl eggs (duck, geese, etc.) need a much higher humidity during hatching than "normal" eggs (such as chicken, Guinea, etc.). So I would guess that not as many would hatch under a chicken vs. a duck, etc....

 

[Kendriffic]

Awe, what a sweet Hen! Like, the Mother Theresa of all Hens!

I hope I get a broody Hen like yours!

 

[peachlover]

Currently have a royal palm turkey that hatched and is tending seven three day old chicks. She used to get pushed around by the chickens but since she has babies she has become fearless and agressive, it is good to see. She is amazing how well she loves those little ones, and how diligently she sat on the eggs.

I took her away form the chicks today and she stayed away for about four minutes and came right back to her duties.

 

[missred871]

My banty hatched my quail eggs, the other hens I had were sitting on the chick eggs. Everytime some of them hatched I removed them from the other hens and gave them to "momma" my 1 year old banty hen. She is AWESOME. She will take care of whatever you give her. She is relentless to intruders and sometimes attacks us when we reach in to change the water or give food. She is a good teacher to whenever I feed them she goes right to the food and clucks at the babies to eat eat eat. LOL. Here is a picture of her and her babies, she is currently up to 12. We have 6 more to hatch.