Would you try to add 1 week olds to a mama with 4 week olds?

[chickens really]

What did you decide to do?

 

[JenEgrrrL]

I pick the Fluffers up on Friday, so I’ll let you know! I won the hatching eggs from a FB auction from Fat Hen Farms in CT. I’ve not incubated myself yet, and only AFTER I’d won them did I start researching heavily, to discover that eggs coming from low elevation (he’s at about 130’) to high (I’m at 7,000’) have extremely high mortality rate, not only from distance traveled but also because low elevation eggs lack the porosity needed for O2 when the chicks that do make it intact are about to hatch. I decided to use Serenity Sprouts Farm in Strasburg, CO to hatch them because she has expert experience and has had success with hatching eggs from the east coast. I drove them 7 hours to her the morning they arrived, and she was able to hatch out 6 of the 24. Two of them needed assistance and were weak for a couple days, so I chose to leave them in her expert care for a bit, and all are doing well now! Because of the long haul and work schedules, this Friday was the best time for me to go get them. I think it’ll help on their drive home to be at a week old as well. I’ll post an update after I make the attempt to bond them with my current mama hen. Thanks for asking! My fingers remain crossed!

 

[Shezadandy]

If your new broody isn't at least 18 days into a solid set, I wouldn't try to give them to the new one. Rarely, and I mean ONCE, I got lucky with an experienced hen at 2 weeks, but keep in mind I'm here all the time and I keep my broodies in crates until either the hatch is done, or if I did surrogate chicks, until SHE is ready to get up. With my last batch I had to hand-raise the chicks for a week because their hen wasn't ready - I'd guesstimated how long she'd been broody (always write it down!!) and I'd miscalculated.

If once you get the new chicks, it's running close on the new broody, set the chicks up with the MHP instead of a heat lamp. It teaches them to find a nice warm dark place (like under a hen) and is the easiest transition- and keep them until her day 18, then give it a shot.

I've had 1 with older chicks already take much younger chicks - and happily the older chicks watched out for the littler ones after momma hen was "done."

I've had 1 with young chicks take much older chicks - and because I'd done the MHP with them (momma heating pad cave) that simulates going under a hen, I think that helped them adjust to an actual hen. I believe they were 3 weeks old- their intended mom didn't accept them and decided she was done. They loved having a momma hen.

What I did was put the want-to-be-accepted chicks in a separate container (crate, bathtub, whatever is easiest)nearby to the momma hen with existing chicks- and if momma starts talking to the other babies, then I try slipping them in overnight.

But again, I'm here -- and there are no big spaces of time where I'm out of earshot (and I keep them on a baby monitor until all is 100% well). So there's a chance- but frankly momma #1 might be wrapping up her chick rearing- and at (edited to 4 weeks, put 6 in error) 4 weeks old for the original batch, it might also be too big of a size issue to be a safe situation.