Will Hens raise new chicks that aren't theirs?

[Kezs]

I purchased 6 laying hens (3 Leghorn, 3 Dominique) in mid-March. They are getting close to laying (I'm guessing in mid-September) and my husband now wants to raise meat chickens also. Once they start laying, would it be possible to buy chicks and have the hens raise them? How would I go about introducing them if I can do it? It's not practical for me to raise chicks in my house non-stop, especially once school starts again. We also can't have a rooster (since technically I'm not supposed to have chickens to start with in my HOA) so that's why I would need to buy chicks to do this.

Our coop is currently a 4x15 sand-covered area, and we have a 15x15 grass area they can go into during the day to free range in, so we have plenty of room for more.

Does anyone have advice for me?

 

[LizzzyJo]

You have to have a broody hen to care for chicks. Normally a heritage chicken breed at least one year old. They might go broody. Then on their third week you take their eggs and swap them with day old chicks over night.

 

[The Happster]

What breed(s) so you have?
If they don't go broody, they will not take the chicks. They're more likely to kill them.
I find Light Sussex and Buff Orpington go broody super often for me

 

[LizzzyJo]

Also, leghorns don’t go broody. Dominiques might. Maybe next summer

 

[The Happster]

Oops sorry! Didn't notice the breeds were named.
It's probably going to be easier for you to raise the chicks yourself. What are your thoughts on that?

 

[Kezs]

I thought about raising them in the house again, but I would want to buy a large amount this time (25-30) and I'm looking at the Cornish Cross, that get to be 10lbs in 9 weeks. There is no way they would fit in my kiddie pool after the first 2 weeks! I'll need a way to get them to go into the coop quickly.

Any other suggestions? I definitely don't want them to be hurt by the bigger chickens.

 

[LizzzyJo]

You can make a cheap chicken tractor coop for them. I’ve seen people do it on YouTube for like $40. They won’t need additional heat for long in Texas. A week or two maybe.

I’d keep them out of the house not only for space but also to limit familiarity. I prefer to not get to know my food.

 

[LizzzyJo]

https://morningchores.com/chicken-tractor-plans/

 

[Kezs]

Do you think fencing in the bottom of my coop with chicken wire would work until they are big enough to protect themselves? It's a 4x4 foot area under the coop. I doubt I would even need a lamp in this heat as long as it doesn't drop below 85 at night. I'm attaching a picture that has 5 of my girls sitting in it to avoid the heat. It was originally built for ducks, but they were too wet to be kept with the chickens in a healthy manner. The bottom of the whole run is all sand that we scoop daily.

Please excuse the rest of the coop. We haven't finished the nesting box walls yet, or put in roosts. They've been happy hanging on the top board so far. We also found an AWESOME solution to flies if anyone needs ideas, but haven't removed the original fly trap yet. It's a work in progress, which stopped when it hit 100 during the day.

 

[LizzzyJo]

Where the chickens are now is the bottom? I think that is too small for 20-30 broilers.