introducing babies to broody hen

[greenbean62657]

Good Morning!

I've been searching BYC for info about introducing baby chicks to my broody Buff Orphington. Tomorrow will be day 21 - and new chicks are due to arrive on Wednesday. I think that the timing will be OK. So - my question is - when I move the babies under my hen at night - do I also remove the infertile eggs she has been laying on - or do I just leave them under her, assuming she will move them out once she realizes they are not going to hatch? It seems like quite a disturbance if I take the eggs out and put the babies in. Thanks for any information!

 

[Bantimna]

Firstly : Welcome!

I'm not sure but I suggest you leave the eggs under her, and if she sits then you know that you have to move the eggs.
Wishing the best of luck to you!

 

[calicokat]

I would think that since you KNOW they are infertile, there's no sense leaving them once you slip babies under her wings. Maybe do it at bedtime, and then just leave one overnight. The next day, when she takes the babies off the nest to eat and drink, get the last egg then. That might help with the fake-out of switching the eggs/babies.

 

[ShaggysGirl]

I'd take the eggs, I have read of people putting some broken egg shells under the broody along with the chicks. I would think she'd think something is up if she had 5 eggs then had 5 chicks and still had 5 eggs .. maybe maybe not.

 

[Young MacDonald]

I sucessfully used this method last week: http://wiki.omlet.co.uk/index.php/Introducing_day-old_chicks

The link says to do it at night, but my Salmon Favorelle accepted the chicks during the middle of the day. From my experience, the three essential pieces are (1) make sure she has been broody a while, (2) use very young (no older than 4 days) chicks and (3) make sure you do the box next to her. When she hears the chicks peeping, she starts to switch from broody to mommy. After she's been listening to them peep for a couple of hours, cup the baby in your hand and slide it under her. As you do that, remove the egg. We gave our broody 12 chicks although she was sitting on only 9 eggs. She adopted them all. I staggered them every 10 minutes or so to make sure she accepted them. You can tell by seeing how she reacts.