Looking for advice! I gave my broody hen day old chicks to raise..

[ChristinaBee]

I have a 9 month old chocolate orpington whose been broody for about 3 weeks. I wanted to get some chicks this year and decided to see if she’d raise them for me. I have a brooder set up and ready if this doesn’t work out. I’ve never had a chicken raise chicks before.

I swapped out the eggs she was sitting on for chicks earlier today. She hasn’t moved or done anything since I gave her the babies. It’s been about 5 hours.

-how long before I know if she accepts them?
- can chicks get too hot under the hen? I noticed two laying on their sides but It turns out they were sleeping.
-she is a very large bird. Can she crush the babies while sitting on them?
-should I put her and the babies in a large dog crate in the coop?


I’d also love to hear about anyone’s experiences with this!

 

[NatJ]

I swapped out the eggs she was sitting on for chicks earlier today. She hasn’t moved or done anything since I gave her the babies. It’s been about 5 hours.

She needs a certain amount of time to switch from "sit on eggs" to "care for chicks" behavior. This works great if she hatches chicks--they want to stay there and sleep a lot in the first few days anyway.

If you're dealing with chicks that are already several days old, you don't want them going too long without food & water--but if there's food right near the hen, they may be popping out to eat without you seeing them. You could check their crops to see.

-how long before I know if she accepts them?

If it's been 5 hours of daylight already, and she has not attacked them or kicked them out, she has probably accepted them.

- can chicks get too hot under the hen? I noticed two laying on their sides but It turns out they were sleeping.

The hen never gets warmer than whatever is body temperature for a chicken, and body temperature for a chicken should be just right for a baby chick. So no worries about the chicks getting too hot, unless you have a climate that gets even warmer than a chicken's body is.

-she is a very large bird. Can she crush the babies while sitting on them?

It's possible, but most hens won't. The chicks tend to sit beside the hen's breast, or under her wings, or some other way of being inside the feathers but not squished.

-should I put her and the babies in a large dog crate in the coop?

That could be a good idea (make sure the chicks cannot fit through the sides of the crate to get out!) Also, I don't know what style of dog crate you have, but I do not think a wire floor would be a good idea for them right now.

If you move her, watch for a little while after you do. If she settles calmly on the chicks to keep them warm, they should be fine. But if she tries frantically to get back to the old nest, and ignores the peeping chicks, you might want to put them all back in the old place and wait a day or two. Once she's gotten used to mothering chicks instead of eggs, she should be willing to stay wherever the chicks are and not care much whether it's the old nest or not. I just don't know how fast this happens.

 

[ChristinaBee]

She needs a certain amount of time to switch from "sit on eggs" to "care for chicks" behavior. This works great if she hatches chicks--they want to stay there and sleep a lot in the first few days anyway.

If you're dealing with chicks that are already several days old, you don't want them going too long without food & water--but if there's food right near the hen, they may be popping out to eat without you seeing them. You could check their crops to see.


If it's been 5 hours of daylight already, and she has not attacked them or kicked them out, she has probably accepted them.



The hen never gets warmer than whatever is body temperature for a chicken, and body temperature for a chicken should be just right for a baby chick. So no worries about the chicks getting too hot, unless you have a climate that gets even warmer than a chicken's body is.


It's possible, but most hens won't. The chicks tend to sit beside the hen's breast, or under her wings, or some other way of being inside the feathers but not squished.


That could be a good idea (make sure the chicks cannot fit through the sides of the crate to get out!) Also, I don't know what style of dog crate you have, but I do not think a wire floor would be a good idea for them right now.

If you move her, watch for a little while after you do. If she settles calmly on the chicks to keep them warm, they should be fine. But if she tries frantically to get back to the old nest, and ignores the peeping chicks, you might want to put them all back in the old place and wait a day or two. Once she's gotten used to mothering chicks instead of eggs, she should be willing to stay wherever the chicks are and not care much whether it's the old nest or not. I just don't know how fast this happens.

Thank you so much for answering all of my questions! I felt like things went well but was worried she wasn’t interested in them. That makes sense that it takes some time to transition from sitting to caring for the babies. I guess I’ll see how things go tomorrow. I put food in the nest box and will put some water closer so they don’t have to leave the nest to get it. Good thinking on the crate as it is a wire one. I have a bunch of hardware cloth and could do a make shift fence if needed too. My only other concern is the other chickens now. My welsummer and barred rock can be bullies. They don’t seem to bother my big orpington so hopefully they’ll leave her and the chicks alone.

 

[ChristinaBee]

The babies survived the first night. I dumped some food in the the nest box and lifted up her wing and the babies came out and ate. They seem very lively. The other chickens saw the babies when they were eating but we’re uninterested. I’m hoping things continue to go well.

 

[ChristinaBee]

Is this normal mother hen behavior? I noticed the orpington outside and knew that my bossy barred rock was in the coop with the babies. She didn’t bother them luckily. Right after I stopped recording the babies went back under her.

 

[NatJ]

Is this normal mother hen behavior? I noticed the orpington outside and knew that my bossy barred rock was in the coop with the babies. She didn’t bother them luckily. Right after I stopped recording the babies went back under her.

It looked fairly normal to me.

Judging by the number of feathers on the chicks' wings, they are at least several days old--so they've had a few days of living without the hen before they got a mother, and now they have to learn to stay with her. If you move the hen and chicks to the dog crate you mentioned, for a few days, it would make sure they can't get left behind when the hen goes to eat or drink or whatever she thought she was doing outside. In a few days, the chicks will be more used to staying with the hen, and she'll be more used to keeping them close. (I've had hens adopt chicks a few times, and I kept them in a small-ish pen for the first few days--I think it did help them learn to stay with her, for when I let them out into a larger area later.)

 

[ChristinaBee]

It looked fairly normal to me.

Judging by the number of feathers on the chicks' wings, they are at least several days old--so they've had a few days of living without the hen before they got a mother, and now they have to learn to stay with her. If you move the hen and chicks to the dog crate you mentioned, for a few days, it would make sure they can't get left behind when the hen goes to eat or drink or whatever she thought she was doing outside. In a few days, the chicks will be more used to staying with the hen, and she'll be more used to keeping them close. (I've had hens adopt chicks a few times, and I kept them in a small-ish pen for the first few days--I think it did help them learn to stay with her, for when I let them out into a larger area later.)

Thanks again for your help!! Things seem to be going very well now!

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Is this normal mother hen behavior? I noticed the orpington outside and knew that my bossy barred rock was in the coop with the babies. She didn’t bother them luckily. Right after I stopped recording the babies went back under her.

So cute!

 

[Baumshell28]

Thanks again for your help!! Things seem to be going very well now!

Best....Picture....EVERR!!!!
You should submit that to the POW thread!

 

[artbykarenehaley]

Thanks again for your help!! Things seem to be going very well now!

She looks like she is a natural momma hen! I agree this could be a Picture of the Week for sure