Question about Adding a chick to a Broody Hen

[Laine21]

We have a few broodies at the moment, two bantams are sharing 2 chicks, but when a third hatched yesterday, after it was fluffed up they both were really having a go at it, really pecking at it, walking over it and not letting it near the other two. They also lost interest in the rest of the eggs. We rescued the picked on chick and removed the other eggs, 3 were weeping and smelly, 3 too light for anything and one that was moving. This one hatched earlier today.

We have another broody hen, has one chick and is desperately trying to hatch 3 empty eggs - Could I add the two new chicks, one hatched yesterday and the one hatched today? or would mum have a go and try and kill them?
Laraine

 

[Zaxby's2]

If the hen you want to put it with has had it's chick for 5 or less days than you can give it a try. You need to do it at night. Take two eggs out, put the two chicks in, and the next night remove the egg. She might except them, but she might also attack them, so be ready in the morning to seperate them if needed. Good luck, and

 

[Laine21]

Thank you, I think I a going to be over-ruled by OH and daughter

they think the risk is too high to put the two little ones through the stress of a foster mum who may or may not like them.

Hey ho! so now its cheeping chicks in a big guinea pig indoor run living next to the guinea pig in his own indoor cage/run...........well they can cheep and squeak to each other!

and drive the dogs nuts....... not a quiet life in this house.

 

[Zaxby's2]

Will you be able to keep them warm in the cage?

 

[ceeceeholt]

We put 4 under the momma that had 3 for two days and she did great, acted like all was normal in the morning. Good luck with yours.

 

[BlossomSilkies]

I just slipped a 2 week old from the feed store under a broody hen, during the day, actually as soon as we got home. My broody has been great, day 3 tomorrow. She is taking great care of her adopted baby. Baby is staying warm under mama, climbing on her back, etc. I had never tried it before, but I could tell this hen wanted to be a mama so bad, had been broody for weeks even though I removed every egg that ended up under her everyday. Maybe I was just lucky, but it's going beautifully and I'd do it again.

 

[Laine21]

Will you be able to keep them warm in the cage?

We have a homemade broody with a heatmat that we have used for two previous lots of chicks, the heatmat is the type you would use with reptiles, it is fixed to the underside of the broody, and in the past I have used old towelling to act as a 'curtain' to keep the warmth inside.
But we are going to give the mum a go today, so we can keep an eye on things, fingers tightly crossed. If she wont accept them, then its the guineapig cage and the broody in the kitchen. The cage is the type that has a plastic bottom and 6"sides, the cage bit is the top half.
I will take some photos later of the chicks
Laraine

 

[Laine21]

If the hen you want to put it with has had it's chick for 5 or less days than you can give it a try. You need to do it at night. Take two eggs out, put the two chicks in, and the next night remove the egg. She might except them, but she might also attack them, so be ready in the morning to seperate them if needed. Good luck, and

Well we did it this morning.......and so did the momma! She took to the new chicks straight away, I did as you suggested about taking out 2 eggs and putting in 2 chicks. She wriggled a bit but no pecking or anything. by this afternoon she was clucking for them to have something to eat. We had a few peeks at her, and now and then a little head would pop out from by a wing, and one of them likes being just by her chest, so peeks our from under her neck! LOL

Thank you so much for your advice
Laraine

 

[Laine21]

One of the white chicks was hatched by mum, in the main coop they had been sharing the eggs, so they were all well mixed up! The little brown chick was the one that was rejected by the other mum for some reason. The other white chick was one of the eggs abandoned by another hen. As for the bald head, a few of the girls have ended up this way while brooding, as soon as the chicks hatched their feathers have been growing back.

 

[Chemguy]

We slipped 6 bantams from TSC under a BO broody this April. They were likely about 1 week old. We waited until night to do it, and were prepared for the possibility that she would reject them and had a brooder set up. She did not, and the next day everyone was strolling about the run. We had no issues at all.