Introducing baby chicks to mother hen

[LizzzyBird]

Hey guys,
24 days ago I got six Gingernut chicken eggs to go under my broody Orpington, but only one of the eggs has hatched (and this was on day 22). So I'm thinking about getting rid of the other 5, I'm doing some candling tonight to see if there is any chance for them, but I didn't want to only add one chick to our current two chicken flock.
So my question is: Would I be able to add chicks to the current mother hen, who already has one chick?
She is still acting broody, constantly sitting on the eggs, and only getting off to get a quick drink and some food for her and the chick.
Thank you

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You can try, but probably not. I would remove any eggs that she's still sitting on.

 

[aart]

Might work...IF you can get freshly hatched chicks under her asap-like tomorrow.

Oh, and, Welcome to BYC!

 

[LizzzyBird]

Might work...IF you can get freshly hatched chicks under her asap-like tomorrow.

Oh, and, Welcome to BYC!

Dang, I don't really think there is a chance that I would be able to get any newly hatched chicks that fast. Would it be easier to instead introduce young pullets to the flock, when the current chick is a bit older?
And thank you I've been a 'silent' reader for the last few months, but couldn't find much information on what I was looking for.

 

[LizzzyBird]

You can try, but probably not. I would remove any eggs that she's still sitting on.

Thank you! So you don't really think that there is much of a chance for the remaining ones to hatch? Is it still worth candling them?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thank you! So you don't really think that there is much of a chance for the remaining ones to hatch? Is it still worth candling them?

I generally give my eggs 22 days just to be sure. If yours were all set on the same day than they aren't any good. You certainly could candle them, but handle them carefully. If any stink just get rid of it.

 

[LizzzyBird]

I generally give my eggs 22 days just to be sure. If yours were all set on the same day than they aren't any good. You certainly could candle them, but handle them carefully. If any stink just get rid of it.

Alright, thank you. At least I got one chick out of the lot, better than none

 

[aart]

Would it be easier to instead introduce young pullets to the flock, when the current chick is a bit older?

Adding birds can be tricky, best to think it out well and well before doing so, it's much easier if you plan ahead and prepare space.

I don't add older birds, only chicks hatched here or purchased as days olds, and I do it when they are young.
First thing is, you need extra space for integration.
So maybe tell us more about your flock, their coop(dimensions and pics), and your climate.
Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!