Tricking hens into raising chicks that aren't thiers'?

[Andi]

Right now I have just 4 hens. I'd like to get some other breeds, but have read that putting youngsters in with adults isn't such a good idea. I'm limited with space and would rather not invest in an incubator, so I've been brain storming on how I can pull it off. Well, pull it off without waiting for my girls to die (they're only a year old).

I've read that silkies, in particular, are good at being broody. Well, I don't have silkies and none of my girls seem to be broody what-so-ever. Here's the questions I have...

1) How likely is it that one of them (you can see the breeds I have in my sig) would turn broody if I put a bunch of foreign eggs in one of the boxes?

2) How many eggs does it take to get a hen to want to start laying on them?

3) Would my girls stop laying if they thought there was a clutch to raise?

4) Would the chicks be accepted as "family" once they hatch and be able to stay with my hens without problems?

5) Seeing there's likely issues that I don't even know enough to ask, what would the pros and cons of doing this be?

Thanks in advance!

 

[loopy12]

Your BA is a black australorp, right? She maybe your best bet.
My black australorp goes broody May/June time (we're in upstate new york - it seems to be the warmer days and nights that trigger it)

As the weather warms up you'll find they may linger on the eggs. Replace them with ping pong balls or similar to encourage them to sit there.
Personally I wouldn't just leave a load of eggs there as it taes mine a few days to go from slightly broody to fully commited.

The hormones will kick in and they'll start to stay there. If you lift her out and she goes straight back in and she's no longer laying then she's broody. Biggest sign in mine is when they pluck out some feather from their chest/belly area. At that point put whatever eggs you like under her. A dozen is a comfortable number, then leave her to it. just check she's eating and drinking once a day and not being bullied by the others...three weeks later you should have chicks!

On the other questions, only the broody will stop laying. You may need to move her nest if you only have one nest box as the others will either get upset with her or start laying in bushes and such instead.

If the broody is not bottom of the pecking order, it will be fine. She ill introduce the chicks to the hens, and defend them against their curiousity and they will lose interest after a day or two. A protective mother hen is a sight to behold!


HTH.

BTW, If you want to just add a few adults you can do that instead...just keep them separate but alongside each other for a few days. Then put them all to bed together at night. Feathers will fly for a few days but should settle down. Never introduce just one hen, always 2 or more.

 

[Andi]

Yes, the BA is a black australorp. She is also the head hen, so if she's the one to go broody all should be fine in the ranks. If there's one that I would hope to be the one to go broody, it would be her.

Is there a point where the broody hen stops protecting the chicks and decides to let them fend for themselves that I need to worry about the other girls harassing the chicks?

I'm just trying to think of a way to add a few more girls without an incubator or having to try to separate them. I'm not too concerned with rehoming the extras.

I considered introducing a couple adults, but chickened out (pun unintended) because of all the disease potential freaking me out. Its my understanding that eggs are the safer way to go. If I'm remembering correctly, there's something (I need to look back in info I saved to recall what it was.) that can get transmitted to the chicks from the egg shell during hatching, but that the shell can be treated before hatching. Besides, I don't have enough yard space to make another run and I'm not so sure how I'd go about partitioning the run the girls have.

Thanks for taking the time to answer! Hopefully it'll work.

If you guys can think of any other pros or cons I should be thinking about, please let me know.

Oh, as far a space to add a few birds, not a problem. We built the coop and run with 7 or 8 in mind. We weren't sure how the space would work out so thought waiting a year might be a good idea to see, and I think it will be fine.

 

[loopy12]

No, by the time the broody stops mothering them (between 6 and 10 weeks, when she will also start laying again) the flock will have more than accepted the chicks as part of the scenery. Also at that age they are nimble enough to get away from any trouble without any problems and look like half size chickens at that point anyway. They will still cuddle up to their mom at night for a while after she tries to ignore them anyway.

For 'ease of use' and cost effectiveness, a broody is the way to go. The only things with it are knowing what you will do with extras or roosters, and make sure to handle the chicks so they stay friendly.

On the other hand if you add laying hens then at least you get eggs straight away...
If you want to add hens you don't need a separate run. I've done several things, a dog cage next to the other hens or in their run, or letting the new birds free range outside the other hens which are in a run etc...just depends on your set up. Have you got a photo of it? It was definitely harder to add hens to the flock when I lived in the city and had hens in a run rather than now when they all free range so they have the space to hide if an fight occurs.
As for disease issues, its a small risk, I've never had a problem introducing hens. If you get them locally you can go and pick them up and see the rest of the flock and the conditions they're kept in. Or you can get them from registered breeders, so you know they've been vaccinated etc.

Either way works. I love using a broody because its a whole new side to chicken keeping. I love to see my hens doing what comes naturally...