Broody hen rejecting chicks in the am

[Kscarry]

Last night I snuck three little chicks day ish old chicks (less than 48hrs ) under my broody hen who’s been broody for a long time. She’s a blue austrolourp Rhoda island Red Cross
This am I came and the chicks were running around the coop looking distressed and the mama left them
I tried returning her to the coop and preying to let the chicks go to her but she pecked them aggressively.

 

[Theorrin]

unfortunately not all broody hens will accept chicks and is a toss up. you can keep trying but you may end up having to separate them

 

[SueT]

I’d say this was an adoption fail….I’ve been there too. I think you’ll have to raise them yourself

 

[Kscarry]

unfortunately not all broody hens will accept chicks and is a toss up. you can keep trying but you may end up having to separate them

After trying to reintroduce she rejected one so i took it out and separated and thought she accepted the other two. I stayed for fifteen min all good. Came back fifteen min later and she had killed both of them

 

[Theorrin]

After trying to reintroduce she rejected one so i took it out and separated and thought she accepted the other two. I stayed for fifteen min all good. Came back fifteen min later and she had killed both of them

im so sorry for your loss hun

 

[Kscarry]

I’d say this was an adoption fail….I’ve been there too. I think you’ll have to raise them yourself

Yeah :/ she seemed to accept two and rejected/injured one so I took it out and separated it. And I stayed for fifteen min to make sure the babies and her were all good then went away for fifteen min and came back and she had killed the two. So I’m trying to take care of the injured one. If it survives I think I’ll have to get another chick within a couple days so it has a friend and will be accepted into the flock. Is that correct?

 

[SueT]

Oh no!
Yes, it will probably need a friend or it will peep peep peep loudly all the time. You can try a mirror in the meantime….

 

[starlitchicken]

For the safety of the remaining baby, I would get a brooder ready. I also would get her a friend or two.

 

[SueT]

One year I had a hen reject a baby from a late hatching egg. (Her own egg!). So I got a brooder set up for it. It just peeped constantly unless someone held it. Rather than take one of her other chicks, I went to a feed store and got another chick—this store would let me buy one chick. The orphan was so happy to have a friend, showed it all around the brooder, here’s the food, here’s the water, here’s my mirror…
Anyway, in the end, after all that, it turned out they were both cockerels…..