Will our broody adopt day-old chicks?

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I like my ladies to sit for about two weeks before adopting chicks to them. Let the hormones get good and kicked in. But I will let them go 3-4 weeks max, if a local feed store has a breed coming in that I really want to wait for. If I adopt too soon, it takes them forever to bring the chick out of the nest.

Note most feed store chicks will be 2-3 days old upon arrival at the store. 6 days old is the maximum I have been successful. After that the chicks aren't as interested in listening to the mom.

Tuck them in after dark so she can hear their voice and feel them moving all night. They also learn her voice during this time.

Make food and water available during the daytime, They won't eat in the dark, so I remove it to avoid rodents.

Hens can't count days, so it doesn't have to be exact.

If she currently eats layer, consider switching to a flock raiser or non medicated starter feed. All can eat it without harm. I keep oyster shell on the side for active layers. Chicks may sample but won't OD. Layer has too little protein and too much calcium for chicks.

Good luck! I love adopting chicks. :wee
 
Thanks so much!
We were going to adopt because none of the eggs under her were fertile. However as of today she has laid one more egg that I think is! If she lays a few more we'll be all set. However, if they're all roos... then we'll be in trouble. Sadly they aren't allowed where we live.
Still thinking of adopting though. If we get sex-links, then we can have definite hens - plus we could put the chicks under her sooner rather than later. We'll be on vacation the day they hatch if they're not adopted! Our neighbors have agreed to take care of them, but I'd love to be there for their first few weeks.
So, still deciding! Is it possible to do both? Maybe tuck 2 or 3-day-olds under her on the night her other ones are supposed to hatch? Adopting would be easier, I think. Anyways.... thanks again! It's my first broody and first tiny-chicks-raised-by-broody! :wee
 
mountainchickens said:
Is it possible to do both? Maybe tuck 2 or 3-day-olds under her on the night her other ones are supposed to hatch?
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You can do that.. but it would be best to tuck them in once hatch is complete... I think. The adoptees will be fully mobile while the new hatchers will still be trying to get their land legs.

If you can't have roos... I would not hatch. However, I would take my chances with sexed pullets in a breed I like over sex links which are notorious for reproductive cancer type stuff and often passing by two years old. :hmm

Beer can said:
Thats been my experience, mamma wants them, chicks don't want anything to do with her.
Good luck though @mountainchickens
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I ONLY have that issue if waiting until the chicks are too old. :)

ETA: I would NOT want to be on vacation during hatch... so many things can happen... And I want to know WHAT happened... for example if all the chicks die was it a terrible mum or flock antics, simple failure to thrive, rats... what???
 
EggSighted4Life said:
You can do that.. but it would be best to tuck them in once hatch is complete... I think. The adoptees will be fully mobile while the new hatchers will still be trying to get their land legs.

If you can't have roos... I would not hatch. However, I would take my chances with sexed pullets in a breed I like over sex links which are notorious for reproductive cancer type stuff and often passing by two years old. :hmm


I ONLY have that issue if waiting until the chicks are too old. :)

ETA: I would NOT want to be on vacation during hatch... so many things can happen... And I want to know WHAT happened... for example if all the chicks die was it a terrible mum or flock antics, simple failure to thrive, rats... what???
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Ok, thank you! Yeah, thinking to not do hatch. Are all sex links like that, or only some more common ones? If it's all, then maybe just sexed pullets, I agree. I've been wanting some Marans :)
Yes, we'll try to do it at 2-3 days so they're not too old! And yes, I really don't want to be on vacation. We are leaving on the 24th. So I don't think a hatch would work at all as that would be exactly when we were gone.
If we can get her to adopt some in a week or so, I'm thinking that would be the best approach. Thanks again!
 
EggSighted4Life said:
Each will be an individual... but I LOVE Marans. They are a fantastic breed over all, good flock members, and some great broodies. :love

Good luck! :fl
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Thank you! Not sure about any special breeds now as our neighbors who we are partly sharing the chickens with (they don't do much of the work at all, and still get half of the eggs :barnie) don't want to get chicks, they want to let her hatch her own eggs alone. The problem with that is that we have one fertilized egg that might not even hatch... I feel kind of frustrated right now cuz I'd love to get some day old marans :hit
Anyways, I'm not quite sure how to proceed. Letting her hatch them on her own would result in either no chicks (would she stay broody?) or one, likely a roo knowing our luck. (We've had so many roos!) Adopting would be much preferred... but... yeah. Any suggestions? Thanks :)
 
Update, we're getting chicks anyway! I can't wait! :yesss:
I was wondering, does anybody know some cold hardy/ in general hardy breeds that don't tend to have genetic problems and the like? We'll most likely be getting 3 chicks, so we'll be choosing three different breeds. Some on my wish list are Marans (black copper), Cream Legbars and Welsummers. I'm into unique egg colors I guess!
Thanks again for all the info thus far! It's helped me a lot! :D
 

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