Putting chicks under a broody

[lutherpug]

Apparently I placed a chick order from the hatchery a few months ago that I completely forgot about... so I have 5 chicks that will be here today. I have a brooder setup but as luck would have it I also have a broody Olive Egger. I would much prefer to give her the babies but I’ve never done this before. My hesitation is that she’s only been broody for 3 or 4 days but once she finally settled into the nest box I haven’t seen her leave it. Would you chance it? How would you go about it? Assuming they arrive happy and healthy, I would like to do it tonight.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've had success with a broody that was only broody a few days, I've had failure. I think it is worth a try but observe.

Hopefully it is dark in your coop or wherever she is. After it is really dark put the chicks in the nest with her and remove any eggs she has. You don't have to put them under her, just next to her should work. If you do put them under her be careful not to crush a chick. They should crawl under her on their own. They should be OK overnight, she can't see them.

Go down early the next morning to see what is happening. You could see many different things. It is possible she could attack them to kill them or peck them to try to drive them away, not necessarily trying to kill them. It is possible she will ignore them. They may stay in the nest with her, crawling around under her and in the nest and she doesn't seem to notice or she may accept them. It's hard to tell these two apart. In either case I'd leave them, give them time to bond as long as she is not hurting them.

Do not expect her to immediately bring them off the nest. Even if she hatched them it may take her a couple of days for her to bring them off. They will tell her when they start to get hungry and thirsty. If you hear distressed peeping and she does not bring them off, you can take her and the chicks off the nest and see how they react. If she hops back on the nest you are brooding them yourself. If she calls them to her she is in charge.

 

[lutherpug]

That is very helpful, thank you. I will put them under her this evening and check on them first thing tomorrow morning.

 

[wild chick]

I did this a year ago, but the hen was on fake eggs for just over 21 days. We'd fed & watered the chicks and put them under a heat lamp when they arrived very early in the a.m. at the post office because we wanted to wait til midnight to put them under the hen. I figured by hatch & shipping they were going on 3 days old and needed that nourishment. The hen didn't read the book about middle of the night stuff. She bloodied my hand and arm taking eggs and replacing with a chick, but we got it done. She was defending her eggs like nothing I'd ever seen! Like @Ridgerunner said, she wouldn't get up to take them to feed or water because in her mind she had a day or two, so I brought the food and water to the edge of the nest and the chicks helped themselves as they'd learned the day before. They are still way better off being raised by a hen than us, in my humble opinion.

 

[aart]

Apparently I placed a chick order from the hatchery a few months ago that I completely forgot about... so I have 5 chicks that will be here today.

Sorry, 'bout spit my coffee!

Hope she took them!

 

[lutherpug]

Sorry, 'bout spit my coffee!

Hope she took them!

RIGHT? You should have seen the look on my face when I got the "Your Chicks Have Shipped" email on Monday morning. Lordy.

The bad news is it looks like I'm brooding these ones on my own. I put them under her last night and fenced off a small area around them mostly to keep the other hens away but this morning she was off the nest, ignoring the chicks, and begging to be let out. She bolted as soon as I took the fence down. Oh well, it was worth a shot and at least nobody got hurt.

 

[aart]

OhBoy...at least her broody is broken, right?

RIGHT? You should have seen the look on my face when I got the "Your Chicks Have Shipped" email on Monday morning. Lordy.

Seriously!!
When did you order them?
OhWell....You can juggle it

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've seen chickens scared of baby chicks before but I really didn't expect that reaction. Don't you love chicken TV?

You tried and no one got hurt. I consider that a success. And now you have your own experience in it, even if it didn't work. You've seen first hand that other hens don't always automatically try to kill chicks. It can happen and I consider it a risk, but it doesn't always happen.

You say she had just turned broody. I wonder how committed she was. Sometimes a hen goes full mode broody in an instant. Sometimes it's a more gradual process. I think that could play into whether or not it works when you try it early in her broodiness.

Anyway, thanks for sharing. I consider your efforts worth a

 

[lutherpug]

I was a little surprised as well...I expected her to take them. She spent most of the day outside but was back on eggs this afternoon and evening. She sure didn't want anything to do with the chicks this morning. It's all good, I have some 2-3 week old bantams that I'm brooding in my building right now so they're in with them and doing well. I've never tried to integrate young chicks (under 6 weeks old) into the main coop before so I may give that a whirl when they get a little bigger.
Apparently I placed the chick order on February 2nd....
I'm giving myself a free pass as this was also the week that my first ducks were scheduled to arrive-they got here today! Too many irons in the fire I guess.

 

[aart]

It's all good, I have some 2-3 week old bantams that I'm brooding in my building right now so they're in with them and doing well. I've never tried to integrate young chicks (under 6 weeks old) into the main coop before so I may give that a whirl when they get a little bigger.

Are they in the coop building?
Time is ripe to put them in there.

I'm giving myself a free pass as this was also the week that my first ducks were scheduled to arrive-they got here today! Too many irons in the fire I guess.

Too many poultry in the mail!