I had a broody hen who ended up hatching 6 babies who are now one week old. Yesterday our neighbor offered me an Americauna chick which , coincidentally, was exactly the same age. I thought there was a chance she would get adopted, so I put her in with momma and others during the evening. She jumped right in with the family, and momma didn't seem to care when she burrowed under her feathers. This morning though momma was chasing the chick away from her own brood. We have her in the house now, and am wondering if I should take one of the momma's chicks inside to keep her company, because she is lonely and loud. Should i try to reintroduce her back tonight? Is there anything i can do to greater the chances of her being accepted? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I have a 5 month old pullet who adopted 2 2-week old silkie chicks.... It took a bit of time - 4 days. The first day, she chased them away but by night time, they all snuggled under her and she let them. In the morning, she chased them away again...but then let them snuggle under her at night. Now they are getting along fine. Every once in a while she'll chase em away again, but she doesn't hurt em, it's like she's just annoyed that they are constantly all over her. The lil ones have learnt to give her some space and only cuddle up under her at night and she's learnt that they are not so bad. Each chicken will be individual so it's hard to predict, but if she accepted the chick once already - I think there is hope. I think it's good to let them figure it out themselves - I only intervene when a lot of damage starts to take place. They seem more accepting at night when it's time to go to sleep and they are not competing for food...so try again tonight! Maybe try taking all the chicks and putting them in a small box together - let them hang out for an hour or so and then reintroduce all the chicks back to momma.
