Broody hen... new chicks?

[Barredrocker99]

I just recenently got six new chicks, to add to my flock of ten chickens, all a year old. I was going to acclimate them using the playpen method, as I’ve heard of that working really well. I went out to get the eggs this morning, and one of my hens is broody! This is the first time any of them have gone broody, and unfortunately the eggs are unfertilized because I do not have a rooster I was wondering if there’s any way I can use this to my advantage in acclimating the babies?
They’re still very young:

 

[HappyClucker7]

If you think the mom will stay broody, then you can certainly try.
The first thing you have to do is choose if you want to leave the mom and babies in the coop with the other hens, or if you want to separate them. This will really depend on how high the mom is in the pecking order, and how nice your chickens are with each other.
Once you've chosen where you're going to let the mom raise her chicks, then you can prepare a nice nest for her. Put some chick starter and water right by the nest, and give her some eggs or golf balls to sit on.
Once it gets dark, bring the babies out to the coop. You can use some light so you can see what you're doing, but try to use as little light as possible. You really don't want her to see what's going on. Gently replace the eggs/golf balls with the chicks. The mama might settle herself down on the chicks. That's a good sign.
30 minutes later you should go check on the mom and babies. There is a chance that the babies might reject the mom and leave the nest, or that the mom rejects the babies and leaves them, or even kills them. Make sure the babies are still under the mom, and everyone in happy.
Check on them again an hour later.
The next morning, you should check on them as soon as the sun comes up. The mom should still be settled on the nest with the babies under her or around her. She should be making a soft tuk-tuk-tuk sound. If you watch, the babies will duck in and out of her feathers.
If all this is happening, then the mom has successfully adopted the chicks. If the mom is not in the nest, or the babies are wandering around, far away from the mom, then it was not successful, and you should remove the chicks right away.
Hope everything works out! Good luck!

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Tell us how it goes

 

[Barredrocker99]

Tell us how it goes

Wish I had more of an update, but she decided she was done being a major grump and got out of the nest!

 

[Barredrocker99]

If you think the mom will stay broody, then you can certainly try.
The first thing you have to do is choose if you want to leave the mom and babies in the coop with the other hens, or if you want to separate them. This will really depend on how high the mom is in the pecking order, and how nice your chickens are with each other.
Once you've chosen where you're going to let the mom raise her chicks, then you can prepare a nice nest for her. Put some chick starter and water right by the nest, and give her some eggs or golf balls to sit on.
Once it gets dark, bring the babies out to the coop. You can use some light so you can see what you're doing, but try to use as little light as possible. You really don't want her to see what's going on. Gently replace the eggs/golf balls with the chicks. The mama might settle herself down on the chicks. That's a good sign.
30 minutes later you should go check on the mom and babies. There is a chance that the babies might reject the mom and leave the nest, or that the mom rejects the babies and leaves them, or even kills them. Make sure the babies are still under the mom, and everyone in happy.
Check on them again an hour later.
The next morning, you should check on them as soon as the sun comes up. The mom should still be settled on the nest with the babies under her or around her. She should be making a soft tuk-tuk-tuk sound. If you watch, the babies will duck in and out of her feathers.
If all this is happening, then the mom has successfully adopted the chicks. If the mom is not in the nest, or the babies are wandering around, far away from the mom, then it was not successful, and you should remove the chicks right away.
Hope everything works out! Good luck!

Thank you SO much for all of the advice!!! I went to go check on her to make sure she was still on the nest, and she had gotten up! I’m definitely going to keep all of this in mind in case I have a similar situation in the future!

 

[HappyClucker7]

Thank you SO much for all of the advice!!! I went to go check on her to make sure she was still on the nest, and she had gotten up! I’m definitely going to keep all of this in mind in case I have a similar situation in the future!

No problem! Sorry she didn't stay broody, but at least now you know for the future.

 

[50-45-1]

If you want a broody to raise store chicks your hen will have to been brooding for the normal period of 3 weeks. Maybe set her on golf balls if your eggs are infertile
Then get your day or two day old chicks and swap chicks for eggs under the broody at night.
In the morning she thinks she hatched them.
Older than 2 day old chicks are more likely to not bond to the broody and see her as mother.
If you attempt to place chicks under a broody who is not been brooding long enough she likely will reject them and possibly injure or kill them.
Things to keep in mind for your broody next time.