Hatching older eggs with a broody hen

[Anny]

I was wondering if it is possible to remove eggs from an incubator and put them under a hen, when they only have a week or a few days left before they hatch? Would the hen take the eggs, and raise the chicks?

Has anyone tried this?

 

[gumpsgirl]

I have never tried it personally, but have read threads where people have done it successfully.

 

[little brown hen]

I was curious about this same question about 2 days ago and got an answer to move 2-3 of the eggs to the broody and if she sits on them for a day add the rest. So I did will find out soon how it turns out. Hope this helps

 

[Anny]

keep us posted on how it goes!

 

[Mom2Cool]

I did that & the hens did fine with it. Actually I added chicks after they'd hatched & my girls have raised them all just fine. Of course poor hubby is always made to do the setting them under the hen who will *surely give your hand & arm a good pecking* but the eggs & chicks they welcomed with a sweep of their wing right under them. You want to do it at night when it's dark & everyone is in for the night.

 

[Anny]

I put on welding gloves when I try to do anything with the broody hen haha

 

[Mom2Cool]

Ok Anny I posted this a while ago because it was such an exciting thing & it has been SUCH fun watching that hen with those chicks so I thought you might like to see too & so I'll post this lil video again. I am amazed btw the difference so far in me hatching & then raising & in my hen doing it. It's so much more natural for her she was young & new & yet she just id it & I had another that did it just the same way. It's amazing



Anyway I hope you enjoy & good luck with yours. Please do let us know how it goes. Oh & you might want long sleeves too.

 

[Anny]

That video is adorable.

 

[Mom2Cool]

thank you Anny. You know it's funny because the chicks are older now & I actually had 2 different hens that had gone broody & they each had 3 chicks each that frankly I slipped them all (either already hatched or eggs) under them for 1 reason or another. But having a hen with chicks is a first here for me & the difference of the hens raising them & me is so vast I find myself in awe & in a way I wanted to continue to video tape them to be able to chronology them growing up in the coop from hatching to Mom leaving them to them finally perching... The first 3 chicks hatched where with the hen that was still in the coop which I had cornered off a section for her & she has just started leaving them at night & going to the perch again with the rest of the flock & it's so much more of a easy transition with them being part of the flock. The other 3 that are in the rabbit hutch with their mom they all free range together during the day & at the start there were maybe 1 or 2 scuffles between the moms but that settled it down & they all sort of free range together & then go back to their own coops at night. The 2nd group of 3 chicks are just going to be 3 wks old & so I'll be curious to see what happens when their mom leaves them if they go to the coop or try to go back to the rabbit hutch. Again I should have been taping it all along to keep track of how they all did this. & as you see in that video the other chickens were all around those chicks but they never really bothered them & frankly my rooster Mr. Standoffish I swear he feeds them (the chicks) the same way he feeds all of the hens in his flock! I've seen them eat right under his head & body & hubby said the other day they were taking blue berries right from the roos mouth... It's been very interesting to watch really. Mean while if I had them in a brooder they would only be just getting outside at say 2 weeks & with the weather as cool as it's been probably not until 3 weeks old.