Can you graft baby chicks to mama who already has 3 or 4 day old chicks?

[NanaKat]

LF is large fowl.
I have several breeds that love to take on more babies....a few even steal chicks from hens even when they have not been broody themselves.
Cochin and Wyandotte make great mothers.
All you can do is try and be prepared to raise them yourself.

 

[lilcowmama]

LF is large fowl.
I have several breeds that love to take on more babies....a few even steal chicks from hens even when they have not been broody themselves.
Cochin and Wyandotte make great mothers.
All you can do is try and be prepared to raise them yourself.

Aha! Thank you! That's so funny about some of them stealing chicks.

 

[lilcowmama]

We tried the bucket method first but we didn't wait long enough. It is a good way to try if you need to do it during daylight hours. Take some of her chicks and put them in a bucket or box that mama can't see inside. Let the babies mingle for a bit and tip them all out. Mama will be so happy to have her babies back that she may not notice the new ones mixed in.

Thanks for the idea, Eckielady!

 

[ChickenGrass]

Thank you all, for the advice! I will try just a couple tonight and I'm prepared to hand raise with the heating pad method if it doesn't work out. I was wondering about the color thing too. I guess I'll be looking for some little black chicks!

Fionn, what is LF?

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LF is them abbreviation for Large fowl.
I don't think the colour difference matters,
Because I mixed silkie chicks with Barbu Danvers and the hen didn't even notice the newer chicks even though they look completely different.
Goodluck,
Fionn.

 

[lilcowmama]

LF is them abbreviation for Large fowl.
I don't think the colour difference matters,
Because I mixed silkie chicks with Barbu Danvers and the hen didn't even notice the newer chicks even though they look completely different.
Goodluck,
Fionn.

That's neat! I just got 3 black sex links, just in case. They look almost identical to the ones I have. It will be hard to tell them apart, at least for me! Lol

I'm going to wait until dark to put them under her and hope for the best! Thanks again for sharing your experiences!

 

[Eckielady]

That's neat! I just got 3 black sex links, just in case. They look almost identical to the ones I have. It will be hard to tell them apart, at least for me! Lol

I'm going to wait until dark to put them under her and hope for the best! Thanks again for sharing your experiences!

Color doesn't matter as much in the first day or so since babies are so new but after a few days it matters. By then Mama has memorized her babies.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

 

[lilcowmama]

I just put the three little ones underneath her and so far, so good. Everyone sounds settled in for the night. I guess I'll know more in the morning! I will update again soon...

 

[ChickenGrass]

I hope they do fine.
Hopefully the broody hen will take to them.
Keep us updated!,
Thanks,
Fionn.

 

[Eckielady]

How are things this morning?

 

[lilcowmama]

Everyone is happy this morning! The new chicks are actually smaller than the original babies, so I can still tell them apart! I will try and get a better picture of all of them later.