Broody Hen Thread!

[WVduckchick]

rebracora makes a good point, I wasn't thinking about the little ones already being 2 weeks old. Sorry.

Maybe trade her eggs out for new ones, hatch the chicks in the bator, then give them all to her at one time?? But by then, the older ones will be even older...

Or you could still brood the older ones and give her the new hatchlings.

 

[rebrascora]

@jenniferlamar70

You could always have the incubator on standby to finish off any eggs she abandons if the hatch is going to be staggered and you should get away with putting those chicks back under her once they hatch and dry in the incubator.
You could try a chick under her at night whilst she is still on the eggs and if she accepts it and it her, then move the eggs to the incubator and slowly slip more chicks under her. Broody hens are wonderful but it's not always easy to predict how they will behave.

 

[Nksg75]

I am in a situation, and need some advice. I have a lone chick, just hatched today in the incubator. In addition I also have a new momma hen with her (2week old) chick. In our house.
Long story as to why this happened, and I won't bore you with details.
I know in an ideal world, I would run out and grab another chick for company.however I am not in that world now. TSC is all out of chicks, and won't be ordering till spring, local feed stores same thing, ordering from my pet chicken will take too long,
What I would love to do, but I am too scared to do it is try to get the hen to raise the new chick.
I know that the new chick is lonely, and it would be better for everyone if the hen would adopt the chick.
However I don't think she will with a 2 week old chick.
What I am truly scared of is that if I try and all seems well tonight, I could wKe up to a dead chick in the am.
What to do???

 

[WVduckchick]

I am in a situation, and need some advice. I have a lone chick, just hatched today in the incubator. In addition I also have a new momma hen with her (2week old) chick. In our house.
Long story as to why this happened, and I won't bore you with details.
I know in an ideal world, I would run out and grab another chick for company.however I am not in that world now. TSC is all out of chicks, and won't be ordering till spring, local feed stores same thing, ordering from my pet chicken will take too long,
What I would love to do, but I am too scared to do it is try to get the hen to raise the new chick.
I know that the new chick is lonely, and it would be better for everyone if the hen would adopt the chick.
However I don't think she will with a 2 week old chick.
What I am truly scared of is that if I try and all seems well tonight, I could wKe up to a dead chick in the am.
What to do???

My thoughts are it depends on the broody, as to whether she would accept it or not. I had 2 brooding about a week apart. I put them all together and eventually one hen kinda took over all the chicks, and the other just hung out. The chicks didn't seem to mind, but one momma was bossier and wanted all the babies.

Depending on how attached you are to the chick, you could risk it and it could go fine! She also could reject and kill it. If you decide to give it a try, just do so in the dark, with just enough light to see if she will pull the new one under her. If she is going to reject it, she "should" shoo it away quickly and you can just take it back. Or you could still wake up to a dead one. I don't think there's any right answer, unfortunately.

 

[the poppster]

I hate to end up with an "orphan chick"....it's not fair to the chick, most never fit in, and will probably spend it's life on the run from every chicken in the flock....I have one half grown orphan pullet in my flock right now....she is doing ok so far and has started to show a little boldness as she matures...but I won't or try not to let it happen again....poor baby...she had a little cockrel chick buddy....but they didn't go back into the coop one night, and after hunting for an hour for them in the dark I was only able to catch her....her buddy snuck under the wood shed, where I couldn't reach him....I had to leave him, and hope he would show up in the morning....he didn't....
So I would do just what "WVDC" just said, and try introducing the chick to the broody in the dark....but be prepared to rescue it. Not only mom might go after the little stranger....the other chick might as well. If the mom is isolated with her chick. You might try introducing the new baby by giving it a corner of her nest box...fence off a few feet of space....with a small brood light, food and water...let them get used to each other....the broody might accept it...or just let nature take its course....I have a really mellow Silkie Roo that I've put in with orphan chicks...he isn't thrilled about it....but he doesn't hurt the chick and will let it snuggle up with him at night...I've never tried him with a day old...I doubt that he would brood the chick...

 

[Nksg75]

Well after I wrote that last night, I thought if I don't at least try then I will be constantly worrying about what if.
So I did and she scooted her under her wing. So far so good. I am taking my daughter to school, and so nervous while I'm gone.

 

[WVduckchick]

Well after I wrote that last night, I thought if I don't at least try then I will be constantly worrying about what if.
So I did and she scooted her under her wing. So far so good. I am taking my daughter to school, and so nervous while I'm gone.

hoping it all works out for the best!

 

[Nksg75]

OK here's an update. After getting back from dropping my daughter off at school They were all doing well Everyone is still alive and doing fine . So I follow normal routine and let the hen and her two week Old chick out as well with the other one . I noticed that the mother hen was not actively caring for the chick. s She wasn't attacking her however when the check would cry she wasn't actively running over to care for the chick either she kept going and doing her own thing with the other check And since it is one day old chick it's still going to need warmth so I decided to take the heating pad outside and hope that it would stay underneath the heating pad of them mother and a two week old check foraged in the yard . Well the little pain in the rump Day old Chick decided that she wanted to follow them around and with constantly crying . I felt bad for it so I brought it back inside and thought, OK will put it back in tonight and when It gets a little bit stronger she/he can follow them around . So I bring it inside and this little chick is driving me crazy by constantly crying . I'm at my wits end with this chick(not really at wits end, just tired of the peeping) and I can't just leave it because it is my daughters and I will catch hell . Over the past year she seems to have lost all 3 of her chickens, through no fault of their own of her own, and this chick is quite special even though it is a pain in the rump. This chick was in the refrigerator for 6-7 weeks in the egg of course and We had just lost her last hen. This was one of her eggs. I decided to go ahead and just give it a try because we had forgotten about it and couldn't eat it anyway. I did set more than 1, however this is the one and only that made it!! So as much as I would love to just say put her out there and hope for the best I really can't because I would never Be forgiven by my daughter. Help what would you guys do in the situation ?

 

[WVduckchick]

OK here's an update. After getting back from dropping my daughter off at school They were all doing well Everyone is still alive and doing fine . So I follow normal routine and let the hen and her two week Old chick out as well with the other one . I noticed that the mother hen was not actively caring for the chick. s She wasn't attacking her however when the check would cry she wasn't actively running over to care for the chick either she kept going and doing her own thing with the other check And since it is one day old chick it's still going to need warmth so I decided to take the heating pad outside and hope that it would stay underneath the heating pad of them mother and a two week old check foraged in the yard . Well the little pain in the rump Day old Chick decided that she wanted to follow them around and with constantly crying . I felt bad for it so I brought it back inside and thought, OK will put it back in tonight and when It gets a little bit stronger she/he can follow them around . So I bring it inside and this little chick is driving me crazy by constantly crying . I'm at my wits end with this chick(not really at wits end, just tired of the peeping) and I can't just leave it because it is my daughters and I will catch hell . Over the past year she seems to have lost all 3 of her chickens, through no fault of their own of her own, and this chick is quite special even though it is a pain in the rump. This chick was in the refrigerator for 6-7 weeks in the egg of course and We had just lost her last hen. This was one of her eggs. I decided to go ahead and just give it a try because we had forgotten about it and couldn't eat it anyway. I did set more than 1, however this is the one and only that made it!! So as much as I would love to just say put her out there and hope for the best I really can't because I would never Be forgiven by my daughter. Help what would you guys do in the situation ?

Oh goodness! Whereabouts are you and what are your daily temperatures running now?

 

[Nksg75]

I am in Texas. It's 80 here, so warm.