Can I even do this? *grafting chick to broody hen*

[PrincessChicky]

One of my less winsome chickens has gone broody again. Again!! 2nd time in 6 months. She's killing the egg production around here, we only have 3 hens.

Anyway, we have an approximately 4 week old chick and I'm wondering if I can stick her under the broody hen one night? Is a month old too old? Is there any harm in trying?

Advice would be great! I was fretting over introducing the new baby to the existing flock and I'm hoping that her going broody will solve my problem.
Sweet baby in question:




Thank you!

 

[Johnn]

Try posting here im sure you will get a experience answer, sorry I cant answer myself! https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...n-hatch-a-long-and-informational-thread/16600

 

[hrhta812]

I can't recommend it. There's a chance she'll attack the chick. My husband insisted on trying to put a new chick in with our hen that had one chick of her own, and in a split second, she sliced that poor baby open with her beak. It was horrible. The time will go by fast and soon your little one will be able to go in with the others.

If you can, pick the broody hen up off the nest and make her go out a few times a day. I found some info on getting them to stop being broody:

If you want to try to stop a hen from being broody, there are a few methods that can be tried although a determined hen will sit almost anywhere and won't be put off.
1. Moving her from the nest box.
If you keep taking her off the nest, putting her outside, she may decide to give up although this often requires many attempts.
2. Cooling the broody hen off.
Sometimes by taking her off the nest and dunking her lower half (underside) into a bucket of cool water until her feathers are wet can put her off. This could be a distraction for her as her instinct is now to dry herself off and preen her feathers by which time she may head straight back to the nest, or may have forgotten about the nest.
This should only be done in the warmer months so a hen doesn't get cold and tends to only work on hens that have just become broody. Combine this with shutting her out of the house or nesting area.
3. Moving her to a new house.
The most success I have had is by moving a hen to a small outdoor run I have for chicks. I do not give her access to the house. She is on fresh grass and has water. I ensure there is a lot of corn scattered around to keep her interested. At night time I place her onto a low perch inside the house in the dark. The floor is bare and there is no nesting material. The next day she goes back out into the run. Once a couple of mornings have passed where she is not sitting but eager to get out into the run for her food, I put her back into the main run. Be careful when re-introducing her to the flock as she may get pecked for a while until the pecking order is re-established. While she is isolated, it is better to keep her close to the flock so they can still see and smell her. This makes the re-introduction much easier.
A large dog crate can also be used - place this in the cool / shade and ensure she has shelter, food and water but no nesting material. Place her back in the hen house over night with the rest of the flock. 2 to 3 days is usually sufficient. This may seem a little harsh restricting her, but in the long run it's kinder than letting her sit for 5 or 6 weeks to get run down.
If you manage to stop your hen from being broody, you will find that she probably won't lay for a few weeks but this is usually better than 12 weeks or so if she was trying to sit on eggs.
http://poultrykeeper.com/keeping-chickens-faq/how-can-i-stop-a-hen-from-being-broody

 

[drumstick diva]

YOu can also put a broody in a raised (off ground) wire bottom cage (no bedding)- this way cool air flows under her - which she won't like.