How do you know if a duck or chicken is ready to hatch and take care of their own?

[michelle22]

weve had some Muscovy ducks and chickens hatch eggs, how do you know if they're ready To take care of the babies on their own? Our flock is free range, we only close them in at night after they've all gone in. We obviously give them food and water. I know in the wild they'd have to fend for themselves, but since this is a different setting id assume the circumstances are different. My chicken hatched a duck egg and the first one does, I took the second and now he's thriving and happy. My duck just hatched 3 eggs, two chickens and one duck. The first two died, I didn't even know they hatched. The last I took and am taking care of. Should I assume that she's not ready to take care of them herself or could it be that the hatched eggs weren't healthy?

 

[sourland]

In my experience chicken hens are very capable of raising ducklings, but ducks do a bad job of raising chicks. Chicken hens seem to brood and keep their young warmer than duck hens. Also duck hens bathe, get wet, soak the chicks which causes them to become chilled and die.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

In 98% of the cases. A chicken or turkey hen or duck that sits on eggs will take good care of the hatchlings when they enter the world.