Youngest a hen can raise chicks

[BigBlueHen53]

Thank you so much this gave me a lot of information that I didn’t know and I will let you know when I’m there

You're welcome. That's what we're here for.

 

[Swbertrand1]

To answer the question, "how young a hen can raise chicks?", I'll only share this:

During an extended hatch several years ago, our first baby Silkie of the season preceded the rest of the hatch by 2-3 weeks. We only had one of our hens laying fertile eggs, so we were getting a single egg per day, sometimes one every other day.

When the string of chicks started coming weeks later (about 1 per day), our broody Silkie hen (the one that the first Silkie hatched under), could not keep up with all of the chicks, so the chicks started coming inside to the brooder to mix with our eldest chick. She took to them instantly and the chicks to her.

Did she "raise" them? That's up for debate because she was still learning herself, but she looked and acted like a momma hen. The chicks followed her everywhere in and out of the brooder, slept under, on and around her, and she seemed to treat them like a momma hen would. The converse is that she was just another chick snuggling with the rest of the chicks, and that's most likely the case, but it made us wonder.

If thrust into a situation where a young hen, right on the cusp of transitioning from a chick to a pullet herself, might raise younger chicks, would she? Did this little girl raise these chicks over the next several weeks? We will probably never know, but it sure looked like she did.

A final note: This eldest chick (at the time) saw some 25 chicks come and go over the following few weeks. She towered over them, but was always gentle, receptive, and all around nice to the smallest of the new chicks. It was a sight to behold... Here she is (foreground of the photo) in the brooder at about a month of age with chicks that are a few days to a week old. And, she's still with us, now a nearly 3 year old hen

 

[BigBlueHen53]

To answer the question, "how young a hen can raise chicks?", I'll only share this:

During an extended hatch several years ago, our first baby Silkie of the season preceded the rest of the hatch by 2-3 weeks. We only had one of our hens laying fertile eggs, so we were getting a single egg per day, sometimes one every other day.

When the string of chicks started coming weeks later (about 1 per day), our broody Silkie hen (the one that the first Silkie hatched under), could not keep up with all of the chicks, so the chicks started coming inside to the brooder to mix with our eldest chick. She took to them instantly and the chicks to her.

Did she "raise" them? That's up for debate because she was still learning herself, but she looked and acted like a momma hen. The chicks followed her everywhere in and out of the brooder, slept under, on and around her, and she seemed to treat them like a momma hen would. The converse is that she was just another chick snuggling with the rest of the chicks, and that's most likely the case, but it made us wonder.

If thrust into a situation where a young hen, right on the cusp of transitioning from a chick to a pullet herself, might raise younger chicks, would she? Did this little girl raise these chicks over the next several weeks? We will probably never know, but it sure looked like she did.

A final note: This eldest chick (at the time) saw some 25 chicks come and go over the following few weeks. She towered over them, but was always gentle, receptive, and all around nice to the smallest of the new chicks. It was a sight to behold... Here she is (foreground of the photo) in the brooder at about a month of age with chicks that are a few days to a week old. And, she's still with us, now a nearly 3 year old hen

That's pretty cool. Thanks for sharing.