Hens adopting?

Pakalana

Hatching
12 Years
Apr 12, 2007
7
0
7
Will hens adopt chicks? I've got a gal that's gone broody, I took her egg after I found her (she hid really well!) and she's out today but fluffing and pretty much loning it. Then it's back to her nest sight throughout the day, however she's not laying. I'm wonding if she'd adopt a chick or two?? She's a RIR.
 
I think it depends on the hen. I had two broody girls- a bantam Partridge Cochin (Tina) and a black Silkie (Elvira). Tina hatched four babies the same day I hatched seven Buttercups via bator. I gave the Buttercups to Elvira thinking she would take them. No such luck. She freaked out and stepped on a couple!
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I booted Elvira back outside and put the Buttercups in Tina's brooder. She promptly called the babies over and tucked them under her belly with the four she already had.
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Elvira continued to be broody. I couldn't break her of it and finally gave up about a week ago. She's more subborn than I!!!!
Elvira is currently sitting on four eggs.
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Four more babies to find homes for!
 
My hen adopted 3 chicks I got from the feed store. She sat on 1 non fertile egg for 2 days. No eggs for 3 or 4 days. Then supposedly fertile eggs for 23 or 24 days. One pipped but never made it out of shell. The rest never had chicks in them. So I got 3 chicks slipped the eggs out and the chicks under @ 10 pm and by morning one happy family. I also think it depends on hen. Better chance if she is broody a while longer and slip chicks under at night.

I was also warned if you try this be prepard to brood them yourself if she rejects them.

Good Luck
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Slipping in other baby chicks is a great idea, sounds like something I would do. I think it's great! A mom that worked so hard deserves her babies.
 
Ive had two hens that took in peepers from the feed store. The first peepers were only a few days old, Fluff took those two in within 20 minutes. The second batch was alittle older, so it took alittle longer for Pebbles to figure it out.

One thing is that the peepers from a feed store are clueless about having a mamma. It took all day for Pebbles to teach her new babies what a mamma was for. They finally figured it out. They are now as big as she is and they still all sleep together.

Good luck,
Shannon
 
Let me start by saying I have NO EXPERIENCE....

Perhaps let her sit on a couple of golf balls for a few days, and then slip in the chicks and remove the golf balls...
 

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