Giving chicks to broody hen

[babsbag]

I have a EE that has gone broody on me. I have read that you can sometimes give a broody hen some chicks and she will take them. My question is this, does she have to go the whole 21 day before she will take chicks, or can I give them to her sooner and break her broodiness.. I also know that sometimes it doesn't work so I have to be ready to take the chicks if she is mean to them.

 

[ArizonaNessa]

It sometimes can work but the chicks need to be within the first 3 days of life in my opinion. If the chicks are older and have been taken care of by humans then they are less likely to imprint on the broody. She will want them but the chicks won't need her. I have done it in the past with just giving two chicks and everything went quite well. I have heard other success stories as well as ones that didn't go so well because the chicks were already too old to want to follow the momma hen. Good luck with what you choose.

ETA: I didn't wait. Mine had only been broody for a week or so when I gave her chicks. I just watched really close from a distance to make sure the chicks were safe. Hopefully someone else will share their experiences.

 

[babsbag]

Thank you. It is good to know that you didn't wait. She is sitting on 5 eggs, I could just let her go, but I am really not set up for her to hatch. I have to move her into my house as the nest boxes are 3 feet off the ground. I have one broody hatching out chicks in my spare bedroom right now, and I still don't know what to do with her once she is done with the hatch. The babies are soooo little, they can get out of pasture and my chickens free range with my goats and I can just see the chicks getting trampled. So far she has 7, which is alot for one mother hen to keep track of. I have about 3 days to figure this out.

I also don't really need any more "mutt" banties so I thought that I might order some from the feed store that I really do want and let her raise them. So many decisions to make.

Thanks again for the input.