Giving Chicks To Broody Hens

[Racergirl]

I am getting day old chicks today, I have a broody to raise them. Is it best to introduce in the day time or at night. She is the only one in the coop all day. All my chickens are free range.

 

[krista74]

Definitely introduce them at night. Wait until it's dark, then take a torch with you so you can see.

Quietly pop all of the chicks under her at once - not some today, some tomorrow. She will realise they are there but hopefully in the morning you will wake to find a happy family!

Don't forget to quietly remove any eggs she is sitting on, and you will need a shallow feed dish and water bowl with marbles in it for the chicks.

Good luck!

- Krista

 

[Racergirl]

We introduced them to her this morning and she is doing great! What are the marbles for in the water dish? We have the small water and feeders in with he now.

 

[krista74]

That's fantastic!

The marbles are purely to stop the chicks being able to fall in and drown in the waterers. If you already have a very shallow waterer you should be fine.

- Krista

 

[nono]

Definitely introduce them at night. Wait until it's dark, then take a torch with you so you can see.

Quietly pop all of the chicks under her at once - not some today, some tomorrow. She will realise they are there but hopefully in the morning you will wake to find a happy family!

Don't forget to quietly remove any eggs she is sitting on, and you will need a shallow feed dish and water bowl with marbles in it for the chicks.

Good luck!

- Krista

Krista, I have a question if I might. Sadly, my flock of 9 chickens was attacked a few days ago by a fox when they were free ranging in the back yard. We lost 6 of our beloved hens. We've been so devastated. Our coop and run are very secure, and in three years we've never had an issue with allowing them to free range in the yard...but I guess they've been staked out by a fox who was waiting for his opportunity when they were given the freedom out of their run. Anyway, I'm getting ready to place an order with Meyer's for some new baby chicks, which should arrive in about two weeks. My remaining hens are 2 black astrolorps and 1 barred plymouth rock. None are broody at this time. Is there any way to introduce the baby chicks to the hens (or just one of them) in the "hopes" that they might take them on? Or is that only successful when the hens are in their broody "mode"? Thank you for any guidance you can offer.

 

[krista74]

Krista, I have a question if I might. Sadly, my flock of 9 chickens was attacked a few days ago by a fox when they were free ranging in the back yard. We lost 6 of our beloved hens. We've been so devastated. Our coop and run are very secure, and in three years we've never had an issue with allowing them to free range in the yard...but I guess they've been staked out by a fox who was waiting for his opportunity when they were given the freedom out of their run. Anyway, I'm getting ready to place an order with Meyer's for some new baby chicks, which should arrive in about two weeks. My remaining hens are 2 black astrolorps and 1 barred plymouth rock. None are broody at this time. Is there any way to introduce the baby chicks to the hens (or just one of them) in the "hopes" that they might take them on? Or is that only successful when the hens are in their broody "mode"? Thank you for any guidance you can offer.

Hi Nono,

First up, I'm really sorry you lost six of your flock. Losing one is hard enough, and that is a really distressing way to find them. Darn foxes, they just wreak havoc and cause the worst kind of carnage. Anyway, my sincere condolences to you.

Regarding the integration of your chicks. Generally speaking you would only put chicks under a broody hen. That being said, you know your girls better than anyone else, so the question I would ask is "Are they the kind of hens who are likely to want to raise chicks?"

I had one hen who was considerably older than all the others in the flock. We called her (appropriately) "Momma." Momma would stand outside the pen where I kept the broody hens and their chicks, and stare aimlessly at the babies all day long. I think she was trying to decide which ones she wanted!

She would walk back and forth, touch them babies with her beak when they poked their heads through the mesh, and cluck to them quietly. A hen like that I would give chicks to at any time, broody or not. So are your hens like that?

If so, I would give them a go (putting them under Momma at night), but if not, a brooder set-up might be your best bet. You can then integrate them to the remainder of your flock once they are fully feathered out. The good news (if you can see it that way momentarily) is that your new chicks can hopefully well out-number the existing flock, which is generally the more successful integration scenario. Of course, all integration should be done under supervision.

GOOD LUCK! I wish you all the very best.

Regards

Krista

 

[nono]

Hi Nono,

First up, I'm really sorry you lost six of your flock. Losing one is hard enough, and that is a really distressing way to find them. Darn foxes, they just wreak havoc and cause the worst kind of carnage. Anyway, my sincere condolences to you.

Regarding the integration of your chicks. Generally speaking you would only put chicks under a broody hen. That being said, you know your girls better than anyone else, so the question I would ask is "Are they the kind of hens who are likely to want to raise chicks?"

I had one hen who was considerably older than all the others in the flock. We called her (appropriately) "Momma." Momma would stand outside the pen where I kept the broody hens and their chicks, and stare aimlessly at the babies all day long. I think she was trying to decide which ones she wanted!

She would walk back and forth, touch them babies with her beak when they poked their heads through the mesh, and cluck to them quietly. A hen like that I would give chicks to at any time, broody or not. So are your hens like that?

If so, I would give them a go (putting them under Momma at night), but if not, a brooder set-up might be your best bet. You can then integrate them to the remainder of your flock once they are fully feathered out. The good news (if you can see it that way momentarily) is that your new chicks can hopefully well out-number the existing flock, which is generally the more successful integration scenario. Of course, all integration should be done under supervision.

GOOD LUCK! I wish you all the very best.

Regards

Krista

Krista, first thank you for your kind words. It was such a shock to lose them, that way and that fast. As secure as we've made our coop and their run, sadly there is always a risk with them free ranging. We don't allow them to free range unless someone is home, and usually it has to be when were outside, but in the three years that we've had them, we've NEVER had a predator issue (except the occasional hawk swoop by.) So I think I was getting a little lax by giving them more independence while I was working inside, rather than directly supervising. We've definitely lost our sense of confidence as it relates to allowing the remaining three to free range, and for now...they'll just be hanging out in their run.

Thank you also for answering my question about the possibility of integrating the new baby chicks with our adult hens. The three remaining hens I have, have never gone broody with me. 2 Black Astralorps and 1 Barred Plymouth Rock. They are all 3 years old (we've had all the chickens in this flock since they were a day old.) I'm not sure I can answer the question you posed, about which one might be more nurturing....they've never been in that position. Is there a way to encourage going broody? I have about 7-10 days before the new chicks arrive...I'm up for trying! Otherwise it would be trying to catch the BPR in the nesting box while she's laying...and trying to slide the chicks under her at that point. I thought she might be the best candidate because of her size and she's probably the "top dog" now, between the three of them.

Please know that I'm already prepared to set up a brooder in the house like we did 3 years ago when we received our 9 chicks, but I just wondered if this "might" be an option...or if there was any way I could encourage it.

 

[krista74]

Hi again!

Since going broody is a hormonal shift which occurs naturally in a hen, there are not many ways to 'make' that happen. That being said, some of my girls (RIR's) would go broody on me if I made up a nest with lots of hay (think really thick and really fluffy - very tempting!) and then put in a clutch of 8 to 10 fake eggs. Just the sight of that was enough to cause an internal stirring! Mind you, my girls were super broody, particularly in the warmer months. We are in Winter now, and I had to give my flock away to my brother when I moved a few weeks ago, but I visited yesterday and one is even broody now, lol.

The danger of putting chicks under a non-broody hen is that she may attack them. There is a risk of that even if you are using a broody hen, but it would be exacerbated if the hen was not inclined to want to be a Momma. I would tread very carefully with using a non-broody hen for adoption. It might work - I'm not saying it's not possible - but if your girls are not experienced Mommas there is an element of risk involved. If you are going to make an attempt, I would recommend doing it at dusk, and you should rug up and hunker down with them for an hour to make sure no-one is in danger. I'd be the first one up the next morning too, so that you can see Momma's reaction when she 'discovers' the chicks. It may not be favourable so I would go prepared to swoop in for a quick rescue. A sharp peck from an adult hen to a chick can be pretty damaging.

Personally, I'd be afraid to risk it - but I'm not much of a risk-taker by nature! I'm glad you have the brooder option available as a back-up, as you may well need it. Remember that if Momma does accept the chicks you will need to provide shallow waterers and feeders that the babies can access.

Please let me know how you go! I'll be very excited to hear how things work out for you. And of course, by way of payment you will need to submit a picture of the new fluffies!

Best wishes,

Krista

 

[can you hear me now?]

When I place chicks under a broody hen I do it at night or cover her head so she thinks they hatched on her

 

[nono]

I think I'm feeling the same Krista....it's not worth the risk. I'll keep them in the brooder in the house. Thank you for your thoughts, they were very helpful....I needed someone to talk me through it.

Wishing you a great winter season....I'm going to enjoy our summer coming up, a welcome break from the harsh winter we had this past year.

Best,

Nanette