Can I put chicks from the store under my broody when her eggs hatch???

[The_Chicken_Tender]

I have a broody and her eggs should hatch in about eleven days (hopefully they are fertilized!) A farm supply store nearby is getting chicks a day before our eggs hatch, and I wanted to get a few new breeds. Can I put the chicks under my hen at night when the other ones start hatching? Would she reject them? I'm mostly wondering if people do this because I know many people quarantine their new additions before adding them to the flock. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chicks in VA]

i dont see why not as long as there the same size and the hen doesn't hurt them
but at the same time you might want to quarantine them but get a 2nd opinion

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I have added feedstore chicks to broody hens that hatched their own chicks many times. That is exactly the way I add new breeds to my flock.

I have learned a key trick to ensure a 100% broody acceptance rate. To answer your question, yes give the feed store chicks to your broody at night, but wait until After she has finished hatching her own chicks. The reason is the feedstore chicks will be a few days older, & will need to eat and drink the next morn even if the broody's own chicks are still hatching. You don't want to cause your broody to abandon her own eggs to attend to the needs of the older feed store chicks. On the day you bring the feed store chicks home, place them in a temporary brooder complete with food, water and heat.

To make sure your broody hen doesn't reject the feedstore chicks, it is imperative to add the feedstore chicks to her own hatchees Before she brings her own chicks out to eat and drink for the very first time. Otherwise, she may recognize the feed store chicks as not her own and reject them. After her chicks have finished hatching, add the feed store chicks in at night to sleep with her own chicks. The chicks will all get cozy and comfy together under mama hen, & the next morn she won't know the difference between her own and the ones you gave her to adopt.

I have had 100% success with this method, even with broody hens that previously rejected feed store chicks. The key to 100% acceptance is to add the adoptee chicks during that short window of opportunity.

Also, there is no need to quarantine feed store chicks that come from a reputable hatchery, and as long as the feed store takes basic biosecurity precautions. Most all feed stores do so. If they don't, it's advisable to not buy chicks from that store.

Have you candled the eggs under your broody to see if they are developing? If any are not, they should be removed and discarded lest they rot and explode under the hen.

 

[The_Chicken_Tender]

I have added feedstore chicks to broody hens that hatched their own chicks many times. That is exactly the way I add new breeds to my flock.

I have learned a key trick to ensure a 100% broody acceptance rate. To answer your question, yes give the feed store chicks to your broody at night, but wait until After she has finished hatching her own chicks. The reason is the feedstore chicks will be a few days older, & will need to eat and drink the next morn even if the broody's own chicks are still hatching. You don't want to cause your broody to abandon her own eggs to attend to the needs of the older feed store chicks. On the day you bring the feed store chicks home, place them in a temporary brooder complete with food, water and heat.

To make sure your broody hen doesn't reject the feedstore chicks, it is imperative to add the feedstore chicks to her own hatchees Before she brings her own chicks out to eat and drink for the very first time. Otherwise, she may recognize the feed store chicks as not her own and reject them. After her chicks have finished hatching, add the feed store chicks in at night to sleep with her own chicks. The chicks will all get cozy and comfy together under mama hen, & the next morn she won't know the difference between her own and the ones you gave her to adopt.

I have had 100% success with this method, even with broody hens that previously rejected feed store chicks. The key to 100% acceptance is to add the adoptee chicks during that short window of opportunity.

Also, there is no need to quarantine feed store chicks that come from a reputable hatchery, and as long as the feed store takes basic biosecurity precautions. Most all feed stores do so. If they don't, it's advisable to not buy chicks from that store.

Have you candled the eggs under your broody to see if they are developing? If any are not, they should be removed and discarded lest they rot and explode under the hen.

Wow this is super helpful, thank you! I am planning on getting a candler soon actually, so I will do that asap

 

[Lizzy733]

You can use the torch on your phone or an led flashlight for this. Doesn't need to be fancy. Just needs to be done in the dark, especially for darker colored eggs.

Wow this is super helpful, thank you! I am planning on getting a candler soon actually, so I will do that asap

 

[The_Chicken_Tender]

You can use the torch on your phone or an led flashlight for this. Doesn't need to be fancy. Just needs to be done in the dark, especially for darker colored eggs.

Oh I didn't know that, I guess I will try that first!

 

[aart]

bring the feed store chicks home, place them in a temporary brooder complete with food, water and heat.

Do you use a heat lamp in this brooder?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Do you use a heat lamp in this brooder?

Yes definitely. They temporarily go into the same exact setup as if I was going to raise them "artificially." Food, water and heat (lamp) The brooder doesn't have to be as roomy since the setup is temporary.

Here is a group of 15 ISA Brown pullets (and 4 cockerels) i ordered direct from the hatchery.
I had just picked them up from the post office, which is why they are huddled under the brooder lamp.

Here they are a week later, one giant happy family. 19 hatchery chicks and 7 Easter Egger chicks that the Easter Egger broody hatched herself. (These photos were taken in July when outside day temps were in the 90s. Otherwise no way could a broody keep 26 chicks warm.) The Easter Egger in the photo is a great mother, but had previously rejected feedstore chicks. Didnt kill them, but made them stand in a corner until their "real mother" returned. (Their real mother ended up being me.) By the time these photos were taken, I had already learned the key to 100% acceptance rate, & so was fully confident she would accept the hatchery chicks. Which she did.

 

[aart]

Yes definitely. They temporarily go into the same exact setup as if I was going to raise them "artificially." Food, water and heat (lamp)

Was just curious if the exposure to 24/7 light might affect the chicks acceptance of going under a 'strange' bird in the dark.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Was just curious if the exposure to 24/7 light might affect the chicks acceptance of going under a 'strange' bird in the dark.

That is an interesting query, and I used to be concerned about that issue myself, fearing the feedstore/hatchery chicks might get distressed when I put them under a broody, peeping, cheeping and carrying on. I've never had a problem, but I think it's important to make the move quickly, and under the cover of total darkness. (I use a headlamp so I can see.)

I think the fact that a chicken's general instinct to remain quiet and still in the dark likely comes into play. I place feedstore chicks in the nestbox behind and under a broody's tail. The fact that the feedstore chicks sense the presence of calm naturally-hatched chicks surely helps too. Even though I've never had a problem transitioning chicks from a well-lit brooder to a dark nest box with a warm soft broody and other chicks, I suppose it Could be a problem. In that case, using a mama heating pad instead of a heat lamp should solve any potential problem.