Introduce store-bought chicks to broody hen all at once or in batches?

[nicolevg]

Our 7 chicks from Murray McMurray Hatchery just arrived today (72-ish hours old), and our 1yo Buff Orpington has been broody for 2.5 weeks. I planned on introducing all 7 of the chicks to her tonight in her brood box while she sleeps (slipping them in from behind her so she doesn't see me doing that), but then saw some things online that said sometimes it's better to do batches of 3-5 chicks per night to make it more likely for the hen to accept them as her own. What would y'all recommend? This is the first time our hen has gone broody.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'd do all at once. Hopefully you can get up early just in case the hen rejects them.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I too vote all at once.

 

[nicolevg]

Thanks. I'll do it all at once and get up before dawn just to check (I have to get up early tomorrow anyway).

 

[BigBlueHen53]

How did this work out for you?

 

[nicolevg]

How did this work out for you?

Our buff Orpington is aptly named Karen. In typical Karen fashion, she did what she wanted and disregarded everyone else around her, rejected the chicks in the morning (though she readily accepted them in the night when she couldn’t see them), squawked a lot to vocalize her displeasure at being tricked with chicks that weren’t hers, and then proceeded to be really mean to them. She didn’t seriously harm any of them; she just shunned them and made them all huddle together for warmth at the other end of the kennel.

So no, it didn’t work. We ended up using the brooder plate instead and keeping Karen in her own separate chicken jail since she doesn’t seem to like any other chickens we introduce her to. However, she and my mom have now become bff’s, so perhaps she’s the kind of chicken that prefers humans to other chickens. I’m not a fan of Karen’s personality, but my mother (ever the compassionate kind to all types of animals, whether they’re mean and obnoxious or not) seems to like her. Plus, Karen is a good egg producer (4-6 eggs/week), so I keep her around for that.
In hindsight, I’m glad she rejected the chicks. Because of all the human contact they’ve had, the chicks are super friendly and fun to be around. My 2- and 4-yo boys love to play with them, and they seem to do really well with the boys too.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Congratulations you get brood them then add all 7 in

 

[BigBlueHen53]

So it worked out, just in a way different from what you expected.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I have a dear friend named Karen, by the way ....

 

[nicolevg]

I have a dear friend named Karen, by the way ....

My MIL’s name is Karen too so it was tongue-in-cheek.