Replace Egg With Bought Chick?

[RoseMary12]

I have a hen that I'm pretty sure is a Production Red. I want a baby chick but I don't have a rooster. Would it work if I bought a chick and put it in the place of an egg she laid? Would the chick have to be the same breed or could it be a different one? I know it would have to be a pretty young chick-advice please?

 

[Casper101Popcor]

Is the hen broody? I'm pretty sure you can't just put a chick in with the hen, because the hen might not mother it, I'm not very expeirenced in the category so I'm hoping a seasoned person can help you.

 

[RoseMary12]

She's pretty young now, so I don't know. Does she need a rooster to become broody? We don't have one.

 

[Casper101Popcor]

No, you do not need a rooster.

 

[BabyandCotton]

If she is more territorial, and isn't broody,it probably won't work, no you don't need a rooster for her to be broody. If she goes broody on eggs, around the 21st day, maybe slip a chick under. It could work if you time it carefully

 

[rebrascora]

Unless a hen is broody, she will almost certainly not accept a chick and may kill it. Also, if the chick has been reared in a brooder with a heat lamp, even for just a few days, it may not accept a broody hen as they don't understand that dark undercarriage is warm and safe, instead of light. Even giving a chick to a hen that is broody can be risky and it's usually better to swap her eggs for a chick after she has been sitting tight for a couple of weeks and to do it at night so they have all night to bond before there is a chance of the hen getting off the nest.

Most hens never go broody in their whole lifetime. Some hens go broody multiple times a year. As previously stated, they do not need a cockerel to go broody.

How many hens do you have? If you only have one hen, then getting another hen of a similar age would probably be better for her than a chick and even then introductions need to be done carefully through a cage for a week. If you particularly wanted to raise chicks via a broody hen, then buying a breed that is known for being broody would be a better bet.ie a silkie or bantam cochin or perhaps a buff orp etc. but there is still no guarantee that they will go broody and rear chicks....it's just reasonably likely Unfortunately, production reds are bred for maximum production of eggs and hence broodiness has been selectively bred out of them, making it extremely unlikely(although not totally impossible) that your hen will go broody. She is probably destined to be more of a worker than a mother..

 

[RoseMary12]

Thanks for all the info. I have three hens--another reply I saw said around the 21st day. Is that the 21st day of laying? Should I leave eggs in there for a while, hence the "sitting tight for a couple weeks"? Another question. If the hen goes broody that's when she stays all night in the nesting box instead of the roost, right? So I should wait until she's been broody for a while to try it? Should I try it with the White Leghorn? The only reason I wanted to use the Production is because the Leghorn lays white eggs. I would want to harvest them and she would NOT be happy with me if I tried that. Right?

 

[BabyandCotton]

21st day of broody, around when the eggs would hatch

 

[BabyandCotton]

Thanks for all the info. I have three hens--another reply I saw said around the 21st day. Is that the 21st day of laying? Should I leave eggs in there for a while, hence the "sitting tight for a couple weeks"? Another question. If the hen goes broody that's when she stays all night in the nesting box instead of the roost, right? So I should wait until she's been broody for a while to try it? Should I try it with the White Leghorn? The only reason I wanted to use the Production is because the Leghorn lays white eggs. I would want to harvest them and she would NOT be happy with me if I tried that. Right?

and yes correct about broody

 

[rebrascora]

Quote:
I'm not sure you are really understanding the nature of a hen going broody. Once a hen does go properly broody, she will try to incubate anything (any colour egg from any variety of poultry) even a golf ball or pebble or nothing at all.....BUT... you have to wait for a hen to go broody, so it's not a question of trying it with any particular hen. With the breeds you have, you could be waiting a lifetime for them to go broody though, no matter how many or what colour eggs you leave in the nest boxes.

It takes 21 days to incubate a hens egg, but broody hens can't count, they just wait until the eggs hatch. They do have some concept of the passage of time though, so if you had a broody hen and you swapped her eggs for a chick too soon, she might not be ready to accept it. After a couple of weeks of sitting tight day and night, she should be in the final stages and able to cope with a chick, but leaving it the full 21 days is better.