Putting chicks with a hen

[Ethanpg22]

I have a hen that is sitting on 5 eggs and they have been under her for about 20 days, i also have 41 eggs in my incubator that have been in there for 20 days i was wondering if i could put my hen in the brooder and mix the chicks from the incubator in with the ones she sat on and let her take care of all of them. Is that a good or a bad idea?

 

[Mamatomany123]

I think that's too many for her. If she accepts all of them that is possibly 46 chicks you're expecting her to care for. I know they dont always all hatch but I think even half of that is too many.

 

[Ethanpg22]

I think that's too many for her. If she accepts all of them that is possibly 46 chicks you're expecting her to care for. I know they dont always all hatch but I think even half of that is too many.

Well they would be under a heat lamp and everything so she really would just be in there with them i didnt want to take hers away from her. Do you think it would be alright just to put her in there with them

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Well they would be under a heat lamp and everything so she really would just be in there with them i didnt want to take hers away from her. Do you think it would be alright just to put her in there with them

If you had a small enough space, and a heatlamp that isn't overheating mom, I'd be tempted to try. But mom all by herself could not possibly manage that many chicks. Do all of the eggs show signs of life?

I feel your pain here, I much prefer letting a hen do all of the work. I've been asking myself if I can do the same! Have a brooder available if it doesn't work out. Observe them well for the first day if you can, to make sure all of them are meeting their needs and staying warm.

 

[Mamatomany123]

Well they would be under a heat lamp and everything so she really would just be in there with them i didnt want to take hers away from her. Do you think it would be alright just to put her in there with them

So you're planning to hatch out the chicks then put them with her? I still think that is going to overwhelm her big time.

 

[Ridgerunner]

i was wondering if i could put my hen in the brooder and mix the chicks from the incubator in with the ones she sat on and let her take care of all of them. Is that a good or a bad idea?

I would not put a broody hen in a brooder with extra heat. I'd be concerned that would mess up her instincts to take care of the chicks. If you are going to keep chicks in a brooder adding a broody hen would just complicate it. I don't see any advantage at all of putting a broody hen in the brooder.

I don't know where you are so I have no idea what kind of weather you have. I don't know how big that hen is or what size of eggs you are hatching. The chicks grow pretty fast and how long she needs to cover them at night will depend on how cold it gets.

I have put incubator chicks the same age as hers with the broody hen while the chicks are a day old. Usually the broody will raise them same as the ones she hatches. But you are probably going to have way more chicks than she can handle on her own. To me the simplest thing is to let the broody take care of her chicks and take care of the incubator chicks yourself. Why complicate it if you don't have to.