Asil Mother Hen

[Nocila]

So I've got an Asil who should be hatching out eggs any day now, and I'm not sure how it will all work... I've had broody hens before, and they've hatched chicks, but when I tried to graft chicks to her last year, she rejected them. This Asil has never had chicks, and I'm a little worried about how she'll react. I had heard that someone had a broody hen that wanted to kill the chicks as soon as they hatched, and that left me worried. Are Asils more likely to reject their chicks? Should I watch her like a hawk for the next few days to make sure she treats her chicks well?

This Asil has always been quite aggressive, and has drawn my blood on at least one occasion, so I'm concerned that if she pecks the chicks at all, she might kill them... Am I just overly worried?

I got this Asil because I heard they were good mothers, and it's true, she goes broody all the time, and doesn't lose her nest, like all the other hens, but now that hatch day is approaching, I'm getting really nervous...

 

[gander007]

So I've got an Asil who should be hatching out eggs any day now, and I'm not sure how it will all work... I've had broody hens before, and they've hatched chicks, but when I tried to graft chicks to her last year, she rejected them. This Asil has never had chicks, and I'm a little worried about how she'll react. I had heard that someone had a broody hen that wanted to kill the chicks as soon as they hatched, and that left me worried. Are Asils more likely to reject their chicks? Should I watch her like a hawk for the next few days to make sure she treats her chicks well?

This Asil has always been quite aggressive, and has drawn my blood on at least one occasion, so I'm concerned that if she pecks the chicks at all, she might kill them... Am I just overly worried?

I got this Asil because I heard they were good mothers, and it's true, she goes broody all the time, and doesn't lose her nest, like all the other hens, but now that hatch day is approaching, I'm getting really nervous...

I always watch all my poultry for the same reason but I also let them do the incubating as they do a much better job then I do ......

 

[Nocila]

This will be the first time I get any chicks out of a hen that isn't Mamma, our designated broody. Mamma will accept any chicks we give her, and is always a wonderful mother, we've even grafted chicks to her in daylight, so it's concerning to have chicks coming for a hen that hasn't been tested like Mamma has... I trust Mamma with anything, but I don't really trust the Asil with much, given her aggressive nature...

 

[centrarchid]

Aggression is not likely the problem. Some hens need more time to imprint. For some, the ideal imprinting starts a day or two before hatching which means momma has a good handle on what her chicks sound like before they hatch, Other hens simply go googoo over any chicks when they are broody but don't have any already.


Your Asil should do just fine this go. Problems like you had more typical of pullets.

 

[Nocila]

Oh interesting, I never knew that hens imprinted before the chicks hatched! I guess you learn something new every day!