Giving new chicks to momma

[Still Amateur]

We had a broody just hatch 5 chicks Thursday/Friday. I want more than the 5 so I’ll be getting feed store chicks as soon as they’re available this week. Petunia is a good momma - will she accept the new chicks that are roughly a week younger than the 5 she hatched? I want more chicks but I want the momma to handle it all instead of brooder raising them and having to introduce them to the flock after being fully feathered.

 

[NanaK]

I think it she will be unlikely to accept more chicks since she has already bonded with the ones she hatched. She may look at any new chicks as intruders.

 

[Still Amateur]

Hmmm. Not what I wanted to hear but understandable.

 

[Mvan42]

You can try putting the new chicks under her at night. Watch closely the next morning to see if she has accepted them or not. It just depends on her. I had a broody hen accept chicks weeks after she has hatched.
So possible but possibly not possible. All you can do it try. You said she is a good mama so I would try.

 

[Still Amateur]

Update a few months later…we didn’t get our broody to accept them. Should have tried in the middle of the night but we didn’t. She got vicious with them by the end of the day when it was time for her chicks to get under wing. We raised the chicks in the garage brooder and put them in our “kiddie corner” set up in the run about two weeks ago. The formerly broody hen is extremely mean to one of the young pullets. It’s gotten a little rough integrating these six in with the rest of the flock. It’ll work out but it wasn’t nearly as easy as the two (surviving) that the broody raised. Thankfully they pair up with the six newest ones that are about two weeks younger. The backyard/broody raised pullets mostly don’t get harassed by the flock and they accept the younger ones. So, that’s good.