- Mar 31, 2016
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Hello everyone,
We have a Cochin hen who has consistently been brooding every other month since she raised her first chick (and only chick). She was a fantastic mother but I didn’t want her to hatch anymore eggs for fear of getting another roo. So this time I bought her three pullet chicks from the feed store. The timing was perfect and I got them the day they arrived. I know everyone says to introduce them at night but I was terrified she would kill them by morning. So in the evening while it was dusk we introduced them (first at my co workers suggestion by setting one chick next to her and that didn’t go well she pecked it several times and neither one seemed happy with the arrangement) so we set up the three babies with a heat lamp and were about to give up when I thought to try to sneak them in from behind which I did with all three. I exchanged each baby with an egg in one smooth motion. Mom did settle down but she seemed very agitated the whole time and even after I left for awhile and came back she was still agitated. One chick wondered out to the food dish and she pecked it again so I did the same motion tucking her back under mama hen and mom again settled down. Everything I’ve read seems like you pretty much know right away if it’s going to work. But my hen keeps shrieking, growling, and fluffing up like a broody but isn’t cooing to the babies like everyone says and like she did before. As of right now, 9pm, she is still sitting on all three babies. I’m just wondering if it is normal that she is so upset still and not talking to them the way she did with her own self hatched egg. Does this mean she won’t accept them? I’ve never done an adoption but it seems like most people say the cooing indicates success. What happens when they don’t coo?
We have a Cochin hen who has consistently been brooding every other month since she raised her first chick (and only chick). She was a fantastic mother but I didn’t want her to hatch anymore eggs for fear of getting another roo. So this time I bought her three pullet chicks from the feed store. The timing was perfect and I got them the day they arrived. I know everyone says to introduce them at night but I was terrified she would kill them by morning. So in the evening while it was dusk we introduced them (first at my co workers suggestion by setting one chick next to her and that didn’t go well she pecked it several times and neither one seemed happy with the arrangement) so we set up the three babies with a heat lamp and were about to give up when I thought to try to sneak them in from behind which I did with all three. I exchanged each baby with an egg in one smooth motion. Mom did settle down but she seemed very agitated the whole time and even after I left for awhile and came back she was still agitated. One chick wondered out to the food dish and she pecked it again so I did the same motion tucking her back under mama hen and mom again settled down. Everything I’ve read seems like you pretty much know right away if it’s going to work. But my hen keeps shrieking, growling, and fluffing up like a broody but isn’t cooing to the babies like everyone says and like she did before. As of right now, 9pm, she is still sitting on all three babies. I’m just wondering if it is normal that she is so upset still and not talking to them the way she did with her own self hatched egg. Does this mean she won’t accept them? I’ve never done an adoption but it seems like most people say the cooing indicates success. What happens when they don’t coo?
I will be getting home in a couple of hours and am really curious to see what has happened. Hopefully they all got the hang of it.
