Will chickens raise chicks that they didn't hatch?

[Me + Peeps]

I have three three and a half week old chicks and i was wondering if a wyandotte would raise them or not?

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i would think at 3-1/2 weeks old, your hen would consider them competition. i've put a newborn chick in with a broody who already had several chicks of her own, and she took it in. But a hen would not necessarily feel motherly if not broody. i wouldn't try it personally. Those chicks could get hurt.

 

[Judy]

Probably not. They are about old enough that she would stop mothering them if she had raised them. A broody hen will often accept very young chicks to raise -- I have one who is raising 3 from the feed store right now -- but these are too old.

 

[Me + Peeps]

Thanks so should i build a little pen for the chicks so the chickens will get used to them?

 

[Judy]

Yes, that's just how to do it. They may have to be separated til they are all about the same size.

Read here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=14951

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-adding-to-your-flock

 

[Me + Peeps]

thanks a lot for the advice and the links, I will definetly use them