Development of broody-raised chicks vs. human-raised chicks

[K0k0shka]

I always thought being raised by a mother hen was better for chicks. Or at least, it should be. The natural way of things, right? I just did an experiment and was surprised by the results. I started with a bunch of barnyard mix eggs. I gave some to my broody, and I put some in the incubator, at the same time. They hatched at around the same time. The broody raised hers with the flock from the start, and the flock was very accepting - nobody bothered the chicks at all, they all ate together and hung out together. Broody was a very good mom. The other chicks I raised in a brooder in my house, with a MHP for heat. They all ate the same feed. What I found was that the human-raised chicks living indoors feathered out faster (the opposite of what I'd heard), developed faster - not just physically but also in terms of behaviors, like when they started dust-bathing, perching, etc. even without anybody to show them, when the outdoor chicks had their mom showing them but they still wouldn't do it. The indoor chicks were a lot more brave and adventurous, climbing things, investigating novel objects. The broody's chicks were extremely timid and afraid to leave her side, and uninterested in exploring until very late. The indoor chicks were always bigger in size, too, by a lot. Other than that, they looked pretty much the same - black mutts, with one chipmunk turned wild type in each batch. Aside from the developmental and size differences, all chicks have been healthy and content, acting normal. They are all one month old now and have been rehomed.

Have you guys noticed differences between human-raised and broody-raised chicks? How can the differences I observed be explained? I thought that with the protection of a mama hen, the outdoor chicks would be more adventurous and emboldened to explore their space, but what happened was the opposite. I thought that with a mother hen to show them, they'd start doing things sooner, but I observed the opposite. Feathering out was counter-intuitive, and so was their size. There were 3 chicks in the broody group and 6 chicks in the brooder group. It would be a hell of a coincidence for all of this to have been random chance... with all 3 and then all 6... I'm curious to see what people think and what experiences you've had.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I always thought being raised by a mother hen was better for chicks. Or at least, it should be. The natural way of things, right? I just did an experiment and was surprised by the results. I started with a bunch of barnyard mix eggs. I gave some to my broody, and I put some in the incubator, at the same time. They hatched at around the same time. The broody raised hers with the flock from the start, and the flock was very accepting - nobody bothered the chicks at all, they all ate together and hung out together. Broody was a very good mom. The other chicks I raised in a brooder in my house, with a MHP for heat. They all ate the same feed. What I found was that the human-raised chicks living indoors feathered out faster (the opposite of what I'd heard), developed faster - not just physically but also in terms of behaviors, like when they started dust-bathing, perching, etc. even without anybody to show them, when the outdoor chicks had their mom showing them but they still wouldn't do it. The indoor chicks were a lot more brave and adventurous, climbing things, investigating novel objects. The broody's chicks were extremely timid and afraid to leave her side, and uninterested in exploring until very late. The indoor chicks were always bigger in size, too, by a lot. Other than that, they looked pretty much the same - black mutts, with one chipmunk turned wild type in each batch. Aside from the developmental and size differences, all chicks have been healthy and content, acting normal. They are all one month old now and have been rehomed.

Have you guys noticed differences between human-raised and broody-raised chicks? How can the differences I observed be explained? I thought that with the protection of a mama hen, the outdoor chicks would be more adventurous and emboldened to explore their space, but what happened was the opposite. I thought that with a mother hen to show them, they'd start doing things sooner, but I observed the opposite. Feathering out was counter-intuitive, and so was their size. There were 3 chicks in the broody group and 6 chicks in the brooder group. It would be a hell of a coincidence for all of this to have been random chance... with all 3 and then all 6... I'm curious to see what people think and what experiences you've had.

Broody raised chicks are prone to just.... disappearing. Lost tree litters in a week to new mama's (luckily they each only had one or two)

Broody chicks also are braver when it comes to eating things other than crumble or mash.

Also seem to feather out faster compared to redlight raised ones

 

[SarahGfa]

My brooder chicks tend to eat more and grow faster, because they are in a box next to food all the time. Broody chicks are busy doing and learning things from the hen. All of my broody-raised chicks are flighty and scared of everything, but that's because they are free-range from the start and there are lots of things to be scared of. More likely to survive in the long run.

My broody chicks always start roosting earlier than the brooder ones.

 

[Rose Quartz]

Interesting, I've seen this too, though I've never given it a second thought.

For me having a broody available to raise the chicks means less hands on for me, so better, in my opinion. The biggest upside is that she'll keep my cats from thinking they can get an easy snack.

First few real world excursions for babies is always closely monitored.

The hardest part for chick raising for me is getting them back in the coop consistently at night. Human raised I have to catch them by hand. Which usually means crawling in mud and poo to catch uncooperative chicks.

With a broody I can just keep taking her back out to round up the babies and she'll lead them in. Or if they're really not getting it, she'll at least bring them out from under the building and I can get the chicks from her side and put them in.

There are limiting factors. My large breed hens seem to only be able to care for a maximum of 14 chicks. More than that and I was getting crushed babies.

Also as they got bigger I had problems with where them mama had chosen to sleep at night. Some fell out and couldn't get back in, got too cold and died.

(I'm not sure if this is exactly what you were looking for.... It's late and I feel like I'm rambling. XD)

 

[Kiraeh]

I recently tried a similar experiment where I gave a couple of feed store chicks to a hen who already had some. She was a great mom and took them in no problem, even though the chicks she'd hatched were already a week old.

I found the same thing with size and feathering, with my broody chicks being smaller. It makes sense- she put them to bed early and then they aren't eating until the next morning. The brooder chicks can just wake up and have a snack anytime all night.
I took some pictures for comparison:

Brooder chicks on the left, broody on the right. This is at three weeks, the difference at two was even more pronounced.

I had the opposite from you with behaviours though- my broody chicks are much better foragers, friendlier(mom taught them very well where to get the best treats haha), they put themselves to bed at night perfectly.

I wonder if the breed and handling is the difference? Since mine are layer sex links, they probably don't have a lot of selection for instincts going on, and maybe benefited more from the chicken socialization compared to heritage breeds.

 

[yakitori]

This got me thinking... maybe faster isn't always better? I remember reading a research about how chickens fed less (minimum required to survive) lived longer than those who ate to their heart's content.

As for brooder chicks vs broody chicks...
I guess it depends on the environment, mine lives in doors at night and all the chicks gets midnight snacks. Mine are out on the run during the day and brought in after sundown.

I've noticed that their behavior is quite different when they are outdoors vs in.

When Momma and the chick are outdoors, momma is constantly clucking and on the look out for danger. The chicks are also more cautious. if I offered them a treat foreign to momma, they wouldn't touch it. They are also much harder to pick up when they are outdoors.

However, once they come inside the house, which momma recognizes as a safe spot, she relaxes and lets them do whatever they want. They are much bolder, will fly all over the place (including me), tolerate being manhandled (for photos) and dare to explore new foods.

You can definitely have tame chicks from broodies if the broody is accepting of you!

here are some videos of my current momma hen and her chicks when they are inside at night. I can pretty much grab them anyway I want when they are indoors.

And this is when they are outside, you can hear that she is constantly clucking and communicating to the chicks. I can still pick them up, but I have to go a lot slower, and make sure to approach from below.

I'm trying to hatch another clutch, due late July. If they do hatch, they will be brooder babies. It'll be interesting to see their development.

 

[The Birb King]

My natural raised chicks seem to act more like chickens than indoor chicks. For example, my brooder raised chicks wont eat grass or really anything besides grain until they are like a over month old but the natural raised chicks will eat grass earlier because the mother hens show them.