Getting a hen to adopt?

[biddyboo]

Our adoptions seem to doing fine. We ended up with two broody Silkies and both seem to be tending the five babies. I've seen no pecking or grumpiness from the mamas, so all must be okay. The little ones are eating their chick starter and drinking their medicated water, and occasionally get out from under their mamas and scratch and peep around. Now I wish I'd bought more than just the five chicks. Hindsight, always good More later...~G

 

[aurorarose25]

I am in a similar situation I am going to have a baby any day now and have a broody hen. She hasn't been on the eggs for a full 21 days, is it still ok to put a couple of chicks under her? I don't want to brake the broodiness, but I am worried since I have been having contractions alot lately that I will miss the window of opportunity for her to have chicks.
Please any help would be great..

 

[pdsavage]

Quote:
Where did you get your eggs from?

 

[Kittymomma]

Is she on fake or unfertile eggs? If the eggs are fertile but not ready to hatch yet and you put chicks under her she will abandon the eggs to take care of the chicks. If you're just using dud eggs to keep her in the mood until you could get chicks then yes it's fine to put some under her now.

My BO had only been broody for about a week when I put chicks under her and I put duck eggs under one of my BA's that had been broody for a few days and the duck eggs hatched less then a week later. They might get a little freaked if you tried to give them chicks after only a day or two of being broody, but as long as they've had a little bit of time to get into it you should be fine.

 

[christa7032]

We had a rooster who was mean so we gave him away. The second he disappeared my cochin went broody and began sitting on the eggs that were in the coop. I don't know if any were fertilized or not, but it wouldn't surprise me if they weren't, or if they left them alone too long in the beginning.

 

[BarkerChickens]

At 28 days...they aren't gonna hatch.

If they are first time broodies...they really don't know what chicks are. It took our broody a good day or two to accept the ones that she hatched.