Seeking advice about my chicks

[Crazy Cluckers]

I post a while ago about an issue I have with my 3 hens and 3 rosters, all the post backed up what my wife and I were discussing. So we went ahead and purchase 14 hens from a hatchery. They arrived last week and tomorrow we will have had them for a week. One of our hens has gone broody and has been sitting on two silly putty eggs for the past day and half. I thoughts were to place her in the area with the chicks during the late hours of the day, when everyone has gone to sleep and then get up early in the morning to make sure she doesn't peck the living daylights out of them when she wakes up. Problem is that tonight we gain a 15th little one, we had a little Wood Duck duckling show up in our yard. Should we go ahead with our plans on Friday to introduce the broody hen to the 15 little ones?

This is a first for us and we want to do it right.

Thanks for all the help.

Family of 2 dogs, 7 indoor cats, 2 wild cats, 7 deer w/1 fawn, and all the wild birds & squirrels my wife can feed.

 

[krstms]

She would probably take them if you do it like you said at night and I would touch her first to get her sent and then rub it on the chickies. Then sneak the chicks under her and the eggs out. I'm not sure I would put 15 under one hen though. That seems like a lot. I'm not sure she can fit them all under her to keep them warm. Hope someone more knowledgable chimes in. Good luck!

 

[ChicKat]

I hope someone with a lot of expertise in this area jumps in.

I thought that the hen had to be broody for 21 days before chicks were introduced to her. What I heard is that it has something to do with the hormones affecting her brain. (As mystic as that sounds).

perhaps a search on 'hatching eggs' or 'introducing chicks' would be fruitful.

Good luck with the chicks.

 

[Crazy Cluckers]

Update to the family.

As a quick reminder I ordered 14 female chicks from a breeder, and I was hoping that one of my three hens would adopt them. Several people wrote in with suggestions and replies, which we were most grateful for. During the transition of silly putty egg to real chicks I had a baby wood duck show up in our yard. I searched the river looking for its siblings with no luck so we decided to keep the little bugger.

Well it was a bit rough at first, but my our little silkie has taken on her little clutch of 14 chicks and 1 duckling with some seriousness in her attitude toward us. We have picked up the clutch twice in the past two days and placed them outside in a little pen with their adopted mother, lets just say my hand aches from all the pecks that I have received.

Today, while we were rounding them up to take them back to the coop, the little duckling and 1 chick got out of the pen. The hen was all upset pacing the ground and staying by the fence where the little ones stood. She followed us back to the coop as my wife carried the chicks in there little basket.

Now our only problem is when do we let her take them out of the coop on her own.


Thanks for all the help.