Broody hen not accepting baby chicks

[schatzi011]

One of my hens has been broody for about three weeks now. She's stopped laying and just sits on her eggs nearly all day (except a quick run to get food and water). I heard that you can put baby chicks under her. I bought three and tried to put one under her this morning, and she was not happy. She immediately began pecking it pretty aggressively. I pulled the chick back out and faced the hen away and tried again. Then the hen was fine for a few minutes, till the chick made a noise, then she stood up, looked for the chick and started pecking it again.

So now I have the 3 chicks in a cardboard box with a hot water bottle. I was planning on trying again tonight cause I heard they are asleep and she might accept them if I put them under her at night. Any other tips? Another thought was maybe breaking open one of the eggs, and putting the chick partially in the egg to make it seem like it is hatching. Would this work?

 

[50-45-1]

No need to watch her all night. If your coop is dark, she will not move until morning light.
I always add chicks after darkness.
are the eggs under her hatchable or not?
If so, its best to add chicks soon after her eggs hatch and she already has chicks.
It may be to late for this if the chicks you purchased have to wait a few days. This process works best with day old chicks.
If you leave the eggs she will not budge from the nest in hopes to hatch them and after you give her the feed store chicks, they must be cared for by her by getting off the nest and taking them to eat and drink.
If the eggs under her are not fertle, add the chicks and remove all the eggs, she will think her eggs have hatched.
None of my shipped hatching eggs hatched this spring, so i baught 6 feed store chicks and used this method and all is well.
Good luck!

 

[Chickassan]

Iv'e always prepared the broody a little to the sensation of movement underneath her before introducing chicks but it is pretty much an all night job.
I sneak in.after dark and lightly move my hand under her trying to mimic a chick best I can.
I do this for at least a few minuites every three hours, and at 5.A.M or 5:30 I slide the chicks under and remove eggs doing my sad chick impression the entire time.
This helps new broodies the most, it almost seems like they need to be triggered sometimes.
I figure it happens during a natural hatch when the chicks get in position to pip and zip, she had to feel a ton of movement.
She misses out when you slip them under with no hatching and that effects some but not all hens.
Worth a shot, right?

 

[Peppercorngal]

I'm sorry to say I don't hold a lot of hope for your hen accepting the chicks. If I were you I'd wait until 5am (still dark, but an hour before sunrise). Remove all eggs and place the chicks under her. Sit in a chair and watch and wait. She will either react like she did before, by pecking them and not wanting them, or thinking her eggs hatched and accept them. I'd sit there until it's quite clear which it is. I'd leave them for a day at least (if she accepts them) and then I'd move the hen and chicks to a nest on the floor or ground in a little more private spot if possible. At that time she will have bonded with the chicks and will not leave them. Usually the other hens will not pay any attention to the chicks, or try to hurt them. They are little and pose no threat at all. I had a very similar situation but my broody would not accept the chicks. Now I have a brooder with 9 chicks! Good luck!!!!!

 

[centrarchid]

I went out later, and the three chicks were huddled together in a corner away from the hen. She did peck at one when I put it closer, but not very aggressively, so I put the three chicks back under her, and she let them be. They seem to be huddled under her backside, to avoid her beak. But the hen seems to be accepting them now. I'll check them throughout the day and tonight make sure they're back tucked underneath her.

As I stated earlier, process not yet complete. Consider placing chicks in some sort of a container and keep them very close to the hen so she can talk to them, but not hurt them. The imprinting process is a three way street; hen talks to chicks, chicks talk to hen, and chicks talk to chicks.

 

[schatzi011]

I checked on them last night to make sure the chicks were all safely under the hen and they were. Here's a pic I snapped this morning. The hen has now accepted the chicks and vice versa. They know to run under her when they're cold. I saw them eating from the dish this morning, then they all went back under her (except this one that is on top peeking out at me).

 

[casportpony]

Some hens are better than others. I guess you could try putting them under her tonight, but only do it if you can watch her throughout the night and early morning.

 

[NatJ]

The one time I gave chicks to a hen with infertile eggs, I put them under her in the evening right after dark. I lifted the hen a little, removed the eggs, then sat her down and started tucking chicks under the back end of her.

I thought she would have all night to get used to them wiggling and peeping, before being able to see them in the morning.

It worked for me--but since it's the only way I tried, I do not know how many other methods might have also worked. Maybe I just had a tolerant hen.

 

[centrarchid]

She will not go from total rejection to acceptance all at once. The transition will take place over a few hours. Watch her during day until bonding complete as it is when she can see that pecks will be directed at chicks. Based on your description bonding not complete.

 

[schatzi011]

All is going well. I've released the hen and chicks with the rest of the chickens. The other hens don't bother the new chicks at all. And at night, the broody hen stayed with the chicks while the rest of the chickens went into the coop.

The only thing left is to get the chicks trained on where to eat their starter food. I'm going out of town for a couple weeks, with someone stopping in to check on them. I don't want to feed everyone starter cause they'll finish it off too quickly. So I used a stool with little cut outs, and put the starter feed in a dish inside. So only the chicks can get to that dish. I just need to teach them how to go and find that with their food.