Can extra chicks mix with broody and her own chicks?

[WayChicken]

I don’t think this was answered elsewhere but given the topic, it is hard to search!

I have a bantam broody sitting on 9 eggs and an additional 11 eggs in an incubator. All were set and should hatch around the same time.

My question is: when they hatch, can I keep both the broody hen, her chicks and the incubator chicks in a brooder together with an extra heat pad? Or will the broody attack the chicks she is not able to cover/mother?

If it’s relevant, my bantam EE broody is very sweet. She doesn’t peck and loves to be pet on the nest.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I'm thinking/guessing the broody will see the incubated chicks as intruders. Is there a way to section off the brooder with a wire so she can see the others and you can watch the interaction & the incubated chicks will be safe.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

I think she will be able to mother that many with the heat plate as backup. Last summer my hen hatched 2 chicks and I put 16 more under her at night (in the dark so she couldn’t see what I was doing). She didn’t know she had any intruders, they were all her babies. My hen is full size and she was able to keep them all warm, none used the heat plate until they were big enough to jump on top of it. Yours might need to though since you have a bantam hen. It is so fun to have a broody raise the chicks, good luck with your hatching!

 

[21hens-incharge]

While I believe she will accept the incubator chicks it will be incredibly difficult for her to manage 20 chicks at once.

If she starts looking frantic and stressed you may need to lessen her load and raise half or more yourself.

Pics are always welcome of course.
Do keep us updated on the hatching. We never tire of pics especially of new chicks.

 

[Starburst]

I think that you should be able to introduce them to her without much of a problem - my own broody hatched a chick (the other eggs she was sitting on didn’t survive, unfortunately) a couple of weeks before eight new chicks hatched in the incubator. Even though there was a several-week age difference between them, my broody happily accepted them, and with your chicks having such little age gap, it should be even easier!

However, each mamma hen will react differently, and she might accept them, or she might not. I recommend that when introducing the babies to your broody, try to do it in a calm, cozy environment, and stay with them for at least 15 minutes to see how Mamma and the chicks are handling it. If she isn’t attacking them, but isn’t sitting on them either, consider waiting a little longer and encouraging the chicks to go under her. (It’s as much as an acceptance for the babies as it is for mom!) If they seem to be comfortable with each other, then that’s great! If there is a lot of pecking, though (not a gentle nudge of the beak, but literal attacking), you should remove the chicks from the situation. Likewise, if you’ve tried everything and Mamma won’t keep them warm, you’ll need to give the chicks somewhere else to live.

Again, while I think it’s likely that she will accept them, whether or not she should is another question. @21hens-incharge made a great point about how 20 chicks are quite a lot - not only could the chicks lack the care and attention they need (food, warmth, etc.), but Mamma hen might get over-stressed. While I think you should go ahead and try to introduce the chicks to her, if she accepts them make sure to keep a good eye on her and the chick’s health and well-being, and be prepared to offer a little support and help to her.
I hope that this helped, and best of luck to your chick hatching and raising! I can’t wait to see some pictures!

 

[WayChicken]

Thank you for the thorough advice and varied experience! We’ll see how the final numbers hatch out and proceed cautiously accordingly.

In the meantime, here is Dovey, my EE bantam sleeping on her eggs. She’s slightly purple from recovering from a hawk attack two months ago. Fully healed but the BluKote remains. I didn’t know at the time that some vets consider BluKote too harsh for chicken skin. Two other photos of when she was broody (one of many times) before

Chick photos to come < 6 days

 

[junior67]

I am going to try this tomorrow but with MUCH smaller numbers and a full size hen. My girl was siting on 6 eggs and I had 5 in the incubator. only 2 under her were fertilized, and only 1 incubator baby made it. 1 under my broody hatched tonight (day 20) and my incubator baby hatched tonight. The other egg under mama is peeping so expect that one over night or tomorrow sometime. I am going to add in the incubator baby tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes.

 

[WayChicken]

The chicks hatched last Sunday/Monday. 7 hatched under my broody hen and only 4 from the incubator, which I put under her at night. She seems comfortable sitting on 11, 8 bantam and 3 LF. I have a brinsea heater in the brooder with them. Sometimes the chicks pop under but they don’t seem to need it. Maybe it’ll be helpful as they grow. Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[21hens-incharge]

Looks like they are doing GREAT!


Congratulations on such a fine looking group and a great mama hen!

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

Wonderful! What a great mama hen she is