Hen doesnt accept bought chicks

[Chicalina]

Don't put emotions onto her. It is just hormones. She will get over it, I promise.

She is more likely to accept the leghorn eggs if she hatches them herself.

 

[Johnchickens2]

Don't put emotions onto her. It is just hormones. She will get over it, I promise.

She is more likely to accept the leghorn eggs if she hatches them herself.

Thank you!!
The leghorn eggs will hatch in about 1 week, will she stay broody till then??

 

[Chicalina]

It is just an extra week on top of the usual 3 weeks so I cannot think of a reason why not. Hens often sit on duck eggs which hatch at 28 days.

Hopefully she is a committed broody and will stay the course.

 

[LaFleche]

In case you want try again:

Try at nighttime. Have the chicks on top of a luke warm water bottle in a little basket with towel over them to prevent them from falling out.

Get yourself a little camping chair and sit next to the broody in the dark with the chicks near her but still in the basket, so she can hear them chirping. As the water bottle gets colder, the chicks will start to sound more needy and very often the broody responds by lifting her front and inviting them to crawl under her. If that is how she responds, the chances of her trying to kill them in the morning are almost nil.

If you just sneak them under the broody in the dark, she might not switch from defense to caring mode, and might kill them in the first light of day. The chicks' chirping usually does the trick and initiates the switch. But sometimes this takes an hour or even three.

 

[Johnchickens2]

It is just an extra week on top of the usual 3 weeks so I cannot think of a reason why not. Hens often sit on duck eggs which hatch at 28 days.

Hopefully she is a committed broody and will stay the course.

Thanks. And if she fails hatching this time, will she try again in the future? Or she may be remembering this failure and won't go broody again...?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Thanks. And if she fails hatching this time, will she try again in the future? Or she may be remembering this failure and won't go broody again...?

She may it may not. Depends mainly on the breed she is. A broody leghorn is a fluke usually, by something like a Phoenix or silkies is almost guaranteed to try again

 

[Johnchickens2]

In case you want try again:

Try at nighttime. Have the chicks on top of a luke warm water bottle in a little basket with towel over them to prevent them from falling out.

Get yourself a little camping chair and sit next to the broody in the dark with the chicks near her but still in the basket, so she can hear them chirping. As the water bottle gets colder, the chicks will start to sound more needy and very often the broody responds by lifting her front and inviting them to crawl under her. If that is how she responds, the chances of her trying to kill them in the morning are almost nil.

If you just sneak them under the broody in the dark, she might not switch from defense to caring mode, and might kill them in the first light of day. The chicks' chirping usually does the trick and initiates the switch. But sometimes this takes an hour or even three.

Thank you!! Will try this tonight

 

[LaFleche]

Thank you!! Will try this tonight

Does she still have eggs under her? If so, take them away but for one while she is out and about feeding, pooping etc., so there would be just one egg left to take away after her accepting the chicks.
Some broodies will stay on the nest not caring for the chicks or feeding them etc. as long as they feel eggs under them.

 

[Johnchickens2]

Does she still have eggs under her? If so, take them away but for one while she is out and about feeding, pooping etc., so there would be just one egg left to take away after her accepting the chicks.
Some broodies will stay on the nest not caring for the chicks or feeding them etc. as long as they feel eggs under them.

Thank you. But... won't she recognize the chick she just attacked last night? Im afraid to find it dead in the morning...

 

[K0k0shka]

Thank you!!
The leghorn eggs will hatch in about 1 week, will she stay broody till then??

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.

And if she fails hatching this time, will she try again in the future? Or she may be remembering this failure and won't go broody again...?

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.