Fooling mother Hen

[crazychickenmama]

I know you"re never supposed to fool mother Hen, but I've heard it's okay to put 1 day old chicks I hatched in an incubator under a hen in the dark. She hatched her own chick also and the chicks are only one day apart. I'm afraid she will know that they are not hers and kill them. Of course I will watch her at first but will they be alive in the morning? She is still sitting on eggs that have not hatched except for just that one.

 

[Judy]

It could go either way, but it does sound like this is the perfect time to try it.

 

[DTchickens]

take chicks out, put on ground.. let chicks run to hen, She'll peck once or twice.. and then they are HER'S.. doesn't have to be night, i've done this millions of times and only had it go badly twice, But that was with Gamefowl. May differ with other breeds.

 

[barnwife]

There's a lady that comes into the feed store to buy a single chick every 3-4 months for her never-hatched a chick mama....The bird stays broody until she "hatches" a chick from non-fertile eggs...her mama goes and buys her one every time.

Has not gone bad yet...but this is one VERY determined mama! It has been going on for YEARS...lady does not know what breed this hen is, but either she has a chick, or she stays on the nest leaving briefly to eat and poo and then back on the nest.


I would try it!! Let us know, and pics, too!!

 

[dancingbear]

I recently had a single chick in an incubator hatch, a couple of days after one of my hens hatched two chicks. My single chick was 2 days old before I gave up on the rest of the eggs. I hate raising a chick alone. so I decided to chance it. When mom hen was settled for the night, I took my single chick down to the coop, messed with mom hen a few minutes and reached under her and got the chicks moving around, slipped mine under her from behind. He nestled right in where it was nice and warm. Not a peep out of him.

Next morning, he was running around with mom and the other two chicks, just like he'd hatched with them. Mom never seemed to know the dif, maybe she thought she hatched another, or maybe a hen can't tell the difference between 2 and 3.

Two other hens hatched some guinea eggs for me, about a week apart. The 1st one I had to find a separate space for, the guineas were attacking her and trying to take the keets. The 2nd one was fighting with a guinea hen over her 4, and one got separated. I gave it to the 1st hen, she took it, no problem. The next day, guinea hen had the other 3, but they'd gotten cold and wet, they could barely move, and I thought they'd die. I took them, warmed them under a heat lamp til they dried and were active again, and gave them to hen #1. So now she has all the keets, a week apart in the 2 groups, she doesn't care. They're all hers.

Go for it, it usually works fine.