Broody or brooder?

[kittykorat]

I have a broody EE that has been sitting on unfertile eggs since Saturday.

One local farm store has 1 week old EE's for sale- I could get these and put them in my brooder.
Another local farm store is getting EE's in next wednesday... I could try to sneak these under my broody.

Which would you do?

 

[Luvs chickens]

I tried it and it was a disaster. My 3 broody hens were throwing them around and I had to take them out FAST! I ended up putting some fertilized eggs under them. have 2 more weeks to go until hatch. So, I would say don't do it. the chicks are safe under a heat lamp, they survived thank goodness.

 

[Lobzi]

Let Mama do it. I think there is a higher success rate. Plus a friend of mine told me that chicks hatched and raised with Mama will tend to be healthier since they are exposed to the "bad germ" which helps develop their immune systems to be stronger.

 

[kittykorat]

Ack! One vote for broody, and one for brooder.. now what?

 

[Lobzi]

My broody is sitting on eggs I got from a friend. She accepted my reaching under neath her, removing her eggs and replacing her eggs with some that were not her own. I guess each hen is different. I say, give her a try.

 

[OmaBird]

I am much better at brooding than any mama hen. I was not always good. Now I always brood my own chicks.

 

[elmo]

Instead of chicks, could you get some hatching eggs instead? It's pretty easy to slip eggs under a broody. It's less certain whether she'll accept already hatched chicks.

 

[kittykorat]

Quote:
The issue there is I would't be able to keep any roos.

 

[Lobzi]

Why not see how she reacts to the foreign eggs? Sounds like you have a brooder so you can always change to that plan if the natural way doesnt work out.

 

[FarmGirl01]

I've tried it before. The chicks were scared of the hen.