Putting chicks under a hen

[StepfordCuckoos]

Question for you guys! We're getting ready to order chicks from an online hatchery (we've done it before and put them in a brooder until they were ready for outside) and were wondering if we could put them under a hen? She's not broody, so I don't know that it would work. Would she automatically reject them? We can use the brooder again, but were wondering if it would work to put them under a laying hen. Sorry if this is a stupid question.

 

[Icantraisechickenshelp]

You mean adoption?

Sorry, it's not going to work if the hen is not broody. I guess you can try, but the hen has to be broody to work.

 

[SueT]

The hen has to be broody and ideally the chicks should be less than 2 days old. Even then she may reject them and try to kill them.