Imprinting Experiment

[roweyurboat]

This spring I plan to conduct a little experiment with my little motherly hen. I got her this year along with her little (now full grown) chick that she had stolen from another hen. This spring when she goes broody I plan to switch her egg with that of a gallinaceous bird that is wild in my area. From this I hope to learn how this new bird will view itself. Will it fly around or just walk around like a chicken? Will it return too the wild or live out its days in the coop? If it does choose to leave, how long will it stay with its mother compared to if it was with a mother of the same species? Also, there are some questions that I have about executing this, If you have answers please answer along with corresponding number. 1) Have any of you ever done anything like this, if so how did it turn out? 2) I will most likely be taking an egg from a wild bird. The choices I have to choose from are ruffed grouse, ring necked pheasant, gray partridge and if there are no other options mallard duck. what should I choose? 3) There is no way to be certain when or if my hen will go broody. (even though she already has two times this winter) Is there a way to go induce a bird to go broody? 4) If I fail to find and egg and my hen is broody can I simply put a chick bought at a game farm underneath her? Will she except it? Will it except her? (this is my last resort as the game farm is about an hours drive from my place) Looking forward to hearing your opinions!

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Illegal in the US.

 

[EweSheep]

Better find a domesticated or state approved breeder for that specific fowl you are looking to incubate under that hen. You simply just can not incubate a "wild" bird's egg.

I am not sure why you want to do this.

 

[donrae]

I'd just get more experience hatching/brooding chickens, myself. Why on earth would you want to steal a poor momma bird's egg?

 

[roweyurboat]

Im not in the us but still prob not legal in my country but its not like im going down to talk about this stuff at the game warden station lol. Your all asking "why?". I already said why (to feed my scientific curiosity), what I think you mean is "how could you be so heartless that you would take a baby bird away from its mother?". Well the way I see it the chick is most likely to die in its first couple of weeks anyway so by taking it I guarantee it a better chance of overall survival. On top of all that the chicks left in the wild will get more food and attention from there mother an thus giving themselves a better chance of survival. And if it all goes as planed my bird will return to the wild and pass on its genes. Looking at this from a scientific point of view it is a great idea. At the very worst there is one less bird in the woods. NO BIG DEAl

 

[conny63malies]

If you want to go forward with that experiment order eggs from ebay. Back in the days hunters thought too its just one less buffalo or one less dodo.

 

[theotherranch]

I'm sorry, roweyerboat,but this is a big deal! If I were to take a robin egg and give it to a chicken(just as an example), the robin chick is going to die! Hens don't feed their young like like a robin would. Scientific curiosity is one thing, but you need to rethink this!

 

[conny63malies]

I think row. is trying to get a birds egg in the greater chicken fanily, something that is fully feathered on hatch , walks and eats. Btw ducks raised by a chicken still go swimming.

I'm sorry, roweyerboat,but this is a big deal! If I were to take a robin egg and give it to a chicken(just as an example), the robin chick is going to die! Hens don't feed their young like like a robin would. Scientific curiosity is one thing, but you need to rethink this!

 

[theotherranch]

conny63, I read rowe.'s post and yes, my example was an extreme. But I still contend that this is not a good idea.
And this is just one person's opinion!

 

[Kevin565]

I'm all for learning about science but I don't see anything good coming from this. You're tampering with nature and could easily spread diseases into wild populations if you were to release the bird.