Giving new chicks to a mama hen!

[henryscarpet]

Hi everyone, I have a mama chicken whose eggs hatched on March 19th and I have eggs in the incubator that will hatch April 19th. Would it be too late to try to have her adopt them?

 

[MommyGirl]

Most likely she won’t except them being that hers are older

 

[WoDia]

Hi everyone, I have a mama chicken whose eggs hatched on March 19th and I have eggs in the incubator that will hatch April 19th. Would it be too late to try to have her adopt them?

This is my personal opinion only. Be very careful with this. It’s a 4-week difference in age, and your mama will likely be near the end of brooding her own chicks. Since her broody hormones won’t be in sync with the 21-day incubation cycle anymore, she may be ready to move on. One of the few times I’ve ever attempted this was with a Serama who incubated a very staggered hatch. The first 3 hatched Thanksgiving 2024. There was one egg left that I placed into the incubator. He hatched December 9, and I introduced the final chick to mama and siblings. It worked out wonderfully for me, but I know my broody very well, and I monitored introductions very closely.

 

[henryscarpet]

Thanks for sharing your experience, I will update once my chicks are here.

 

[WoDia]

Thanks for sharing your experience, I will update once my chicks are here.

Please let us know how things turn out. Photos are always welcome! Would love to see the new hatchlings!

 

[henryscarpet]

Hi everyone, 6 days until my incubator chicks hatch!! but now I have another chicken who just started showing broody behavior today (4/13/25). Would it be too soon to introduce the new baby chicks to her on the 20th of this month?

 

[Cosmo Lily]

Hi everyone, I have a mama chicken whose eggs hatched on March 19th and I have eggs in the incubator that will hatch April 19th. Would it be too late to try to have her adopt them?

By the time her chicks are a month old, she’s most likely done with the whole “mom mode.” Odds are she won’t take the new ones and could even reject or hurt them. Safer to raise them in a brooder.

 

[marli365]

Hi everyone, 6 days until my incubator chicks hatch!! but now I have another chicken who just started showing broody behavior today (4/13/25). Would it be too soon to introduce the new baby chicks to her on the 20th of this month?

I’ve done this before. If you are able to move her to her nursery area successfully (i.e. she settles down on eggs and stays broody) you could sneak the chicks under her at night (dark) and she will be in love in the morning.
I was happy with this experience, because the hen’s health didn’t have to suffer by 3 weeks indoors!