Hen doesnt accept bought chicks

[Johnchickens2]

I gave my broody eggs that were about a week away from hatching, too, and she sat on them, hatched them, and raised them. They are 1 month old now. If she's there for the whole process it's more likely that she'll accept them. Also, 1 week from hatch the chicks are already moving, which the hen can feel. When they start chirping inside the egg, she can hear that. It gives her extra motivation to do a good job, and it helps her bond. So giving her the fertile eggs will help keep her in the mood.


You are anthropomorphizing this hen too much. She doesn't approach this like a human would. She doesn't put human emotion into it, or view it as a failure and reflect on said failure. Broodiness is driven by hormones, which are out of the hen's control. Whether she goes broody again or not will depend on her hormones. It won't be a decision that she makes, and will be unrelated to how previous broods went.

Thank you. I understand I put too much emotions in it. This is the first and only hen I raised by myself. Her mother injured her, because she was brown and all the other chicks was gray (one egg wasnt hers). By the way, can it be related? That's why she attacked her own chicks?

Anyway, I really like this hen. And want to see her mothering and having fun with her chicks.

 

[K0k0shka]

Thank you. I understand I put too much emotions in it. This is the first and only hen I raised by myself. Her mother injured her, because she was brown and all the other chicks was gray (one egg wasnt hers). By the way, can it be related? That's why she attacked her own chicks?

Anyway, I really like this hen. And want to see her mothering and having fun with her chicks.

Chickens are very territorial and have a very strong "us vs. them" mentality, and really don't like chickens that are not part of the flock. They have a built-in algorithm to help them figure out who's part of the flock and who isn't. So any bird that looks too different triggers their "you don't belong with us" reaction. If you have a bunch of chickens that are all the same color, but only one is a very different color, they may pick on it even if they grew up together. Likewise with hens, if all the chicks are one color, but one is different, it will stand out and will trigger the "you don't belong" instinct. If a hen is sufficiently broody and flooded with mothering hormones, they may override that instinct and she may accept all chicks regardless of color. Some hens get so into it that they'll mother puppies, kittens and golf balls. Others will reject their own chick if its color doesn't match the rest. Their hormonal levels vary, so their levels of dedication vary as well.

 

[Johnchickens2]

Chickens are very territorial and have a very strong "us vs. them" mentality, and really don't like chickens that are not part of the flock. They have a built-in algorithm to help them figure out who's part of the flock and who isn't. So any bird that looks too different triggers their "you don't belong with us" reaction. If you have a bunch of chickens that are all the same color, but only one is a very different color, they may pick on it even if they grew up together. Likewise with hens, if all the chicks are one color, but one is different, it will stand out and will trigger the "you don't belong" instinct. If a hen is sufficiently broody and flooded with mothering hormones, they may override that instinct and she may accept all chicks regardless of color. Some hens get so into it that they'll mother puppies, kittens and golf balls. Others will reject their own chick if its color doesn't match the rest. Their hormonal levels vary, so their levels of dedication vary as well.

Thank you

 

[Johnchickens2]

Update! I surprised myself with my creativity: I went to a toy store and bought a small chick (not real). Fluffy and real-looking. I let it soak in water for a few minutes. Then, I broke an egg, and put the fake chick in between the shells, then closed it back but left some "feathers" out. I took the hen out, took all her eggs and placed the "egg" alone in the nest. While she was eating outside, I searched on Youtube "chicks chirping" and placed my phone under the nest. When she went back - at first, she was a little shocked, but then started to cluck!! She took the egg under her wings and jept clucking - She never clecked that much! As the video was running, she kept clucking, puffing her feathers.

I guess I'm on the right track. Am I ???
And I really don't want t miss this chance....

 

[LaFleche]

Update! I surprised myself with my creativity: I went to a toy store and bought a small chick (not real). Fluffy and real-looking. I let it soak in water for a few minutes. Then, I broke an egg, and put the fake chick in between the shells, then closed it back but left some "feathers" out. I took the hen out, took all her eggs and placed the "egg" alone in the nest. While she was eating outside, I searched on Youtube "chicks chirping" and placed my phone under the nest. When she went back - at first, she was a little shocked, but then started to cluck!! She took the egg under her wings and jept clucking - She never clecked that much! As the video was running, she kept clucking, puffing her feathers.

I guess I'm on the right track. Am I ???
And I really don't want t miss this chance....

That is hilarious, what a great idea!

This might just have triggered the desired switch and I hope that everything will be alright adding the real chicks tonight.

 

[K0k0shka]

Wow, so creative! Great thinking! Post an update and let us know how it went with the real chicks. Good luck!

 

[Johnchickens2]

It didn't seem to work
I put one chick under her , while it's totally dark outside. When she felt something moving under her feathers, she started to peck herself till she got to the chick under the feathers.

 

[Johnchickens2]

I think I just missed this chance too.
Maybe the last solution is to give her the leghorn egg. I brought one that is about to hatch in a week. I didnt bring more because Im afraid she will also attack thr chick she herself hatched. If it happens, there only one chick to take care of.

 

[LaFleche]

It didn't seem to work
I put one chick under her , while it's totally dark outside. When she felt something moving under her feathers, she started to peck herself till she got to the chick under the feathers.

Then try as described above, but only put the chick under her front if she lifts up and makes encouraging noises when hearing them chirp.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

I had a similar situation to yours, my broody hens with fake eggs would not accept chicks no matter how I tried. (They now have fertile eggs to sit on and they will hatch this weekend.)

The one broody that had fertile eggs hatched three chicks and did accept the other chicks I had purchased for the other hens. Poor girl has 18 chicks now so she is busy!

It’s a tough situation all around so good luck to you and your hen!