switched out bad eggs with 4 day old chicks, hen is pecking them!

[daniel-delarosa]

Eggs were bad and starting to smell. I found some four day olds on craigslist. I waited till she was off the nest and switched out the eggs with the chicks. I kept the door cracked and watched for when she came back in. When she did, she puffed her feathers up and walked around. She walked up to one of the chicks and pecked it in the head! She pecked a few others too. Reckon she knows? Will she not mother them now?

 

[drumstick diva]

It might have gone better if you had put the chicks with her after dark. I would remove them if she continues to puff up at them and peck, she may decide to kill them.

 

[RollinWithTheStones]

Sorry to hear that, sounds like she knows. My hen pecked at the chicks as well, after a few days she's become a bit nicer to them but still puffs up and chases them.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Quote:
Absolutely. Stick them under her at night so she will have to sit on them all night.

 

[Beekissed]

Yeah...that has to be done during the night, with removal of eggs, replacement with chicks. To your hen, those chicks did something to her eggs and need to be punished!

Take away the chicks, slip a few eggs back into the nest and just try again in a few days....but do it the suggested way this time.

 

[daniel-delarosa]

Dang, I already disposed of the eggs. One cracked and leaked the most foul smelling goo all over the others. I doubt she will sit on the nest tonight with nothing in it.

 

[Beekissed]

Borrow some eggs from your neighbor...doesn't matter the source...just warm them up a little if they came from the fridge. She may just set them!

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Do you have anything that looks like eggs - like golf balls, ping pong balls, etc?

 

[daniel-delarosa]

I put the chicks in one of my rabbit hutches. I warmed some store bought eggs and put under her about an hour after dark. Should I try to place the chicks tomorrow night? When I do it, do I have to physically pick her up and put the chicks under her and set her back down on top of them? Or just kinda push them around her (thats how I did the eggs).

 

[AHDCST]

We did something similar twice actually. We had a BB Red hatch 8 out of 8 eggs. Her sister, who lives with some friends of ours, wouldn't sit so the morning we found the last chick we took away the chicks and put 5 more eggs under her and she kept right on sitting another 3 weeks to hatch another 3. My brother has all hens, 5 Buff Orpingtons and 1 silver laced Wyandotte, anyway 2 of the buffs were Broody and sitting on empty nests. We collected eggs from our Blue Laced Red Wyandotte hens and when we got 7 they went in after dark and picked one of them up and put the eggs under her. She hatched 4 little balls of fluff. She doesn't realize they aren't hers. She protects them! Don't get near" her" little ones! She squawks and puffs up as big as she can and lifts her wing and all 4 chicks run under her wing and she pulls them in to her side. It is funny to watch, she doesn't know thee difference.