Will my Broody Hen accept store bought chickens?

[Mblack4]

Mama took those baby chicks and snuggled them close, it’s been a couple weeks and life is good!! Every egg besides one that she was sitting on were just yoke. So this mama hen went from sad to happy and it was a precious moment

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

View attachment 3800105Mama took those baby chicks and snuggled them close, it’s been a couple weeks and life is good!! Every egg besides one that she was sitting on were just yoke. So this mama hen went from sad to happy and it was a precious moment

Awesome! I'm glad to hear this!

 

[LadyGrin57]

I put 3 silkie chicks under a hen with 8 chicks last night. Hoping they can stay with her. Will watch this morning, when I let them out of their coop. They are almost 3 weeks old, so not sure they will stay with her. I’ll keep you posted.

 

[dbooth]

It's probably the older age. The older a hen gets, the more likely she'll go broody. But because of her breed, I'd keep a VERY close eye on her around the chicks for the first couple of days. You never know when you got a bad broody. After she's been sitting for at least a week or more, try sneaking one chick under her. If she accepts it, place the others under her within 6-12 hours of her having the first. Keeping a very close eye for the first couple of days.

I’m getting chicks next week & have a broody hen & going to try to see if she will accept them. Should I move her & the babies somewhere besides the coop with the other hens?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I’m getting chicks next week & have a broody hen & going to try to see if she will accept them. Should I move her & the babies somewhere besides the coop with the other hens?

Yes, I would do that. Even if she accepts them and accepts them well, because they weren't getting used to her voice while in the egg, they will not listen to her (at first, anyways), thus being at a high risk of getting away from her and getting killed by the other hens.
Even when the broody hatches the chicks herself, I always like to separate the broody and her chicks anyways to minimize the risk of something bad happening with the other hens. Some people on here has had success with keeping broody and babies with the flock, but I like to eliminate any risk.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.

I’m getting chicks next week & have a broody hen & going to try to see if she will accept them. Should I move her & the babies somewhere besides the coop with the other hens?

We all do these things differently. I let my hens hatch and raise chicks with the flock. When I give chicks from the incubator to a hen that is also with the flock. Some people do not. Both ways can work but your individual circumstances may favor one way over the other.

What do your facilities look like? How big, in feet or meters, is your coop? Your run? What do your nests look like, at least the one the broody hen is in? If you move her, what does that area look like? Some photos could really help us understand what you are working with.

For a hen to raise her chicks with the flock she needs a certain amount of room. If your space is tight you probably should move her. To me the main benefit of a hen raising her chicks with the flock is that she handles integration for me. I have room so that is my preference.

If you are going to move the hen I'd probably give her the chicks before I moved her to make sure she accepts them. Once she accepts them they are hers, they are easy to move. That's part of why I wonder what your nest looks like. If you move her before giving her the chicks I'd want to move her early enough so that she has accepted the move first. To me that is a risk, she might not accept the move and break from being broody.

No matter what you do there are always some risks involved. Many of us give chicks to broodies on a regular basis and it usually works well. Good luck!

 

[dbooth]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.


We all do these things differently. I let my hens hatch and raise chicks with the flock. When I give chicks from the incubator to a hen that is also with the flock. Some people do not. Both ways can work but your individual circumstances may favor one way over the other.

What do your facilities look like? How big, in feet or meters, is your coop? Your run? What do your nests look like, at least the one the broody hen is in? If you move her, what does that area look like? Some photos could really help us understand what you are working with.

For a hen to raise her chicks with the flock she needs a certain amount of room. If your space is tight you probably should move her. To me the main benefit of a hen raising her chicks with the flock is that she handles integration for me. I have room so that is my preference.

If you are going to move the hen I'd probably give her the chicks before I moved her to make sure she accepts them. Once she accepts them they are hers, they are easy to move. That's part of why I wonder what your nest looks like. If you move her before giving her the chicks I'd want to move her early enough so that she has accepted the move first. To me that is a risk, she might not accept the move and break from being broody.

No matter what you do there are always some risks involved. Many of us give chicks to broodies on a regular basis and it usually works well. Good luck!

Thank you, I’m worried she might reject the new chicks

 

[dbooth]

Yes, I would do that. Even if she accepts them and accepts them well, because they weren't getting used to her voice while in the egg, they will not listen to her (at first, anyways), thus being at a high risk of getting away from her and getting killed by the other hens.
Even when the broody hatches the chicks herself, I always like to separate the broody and her chicks anyways to minimize the risk of something bad happening with the other hens. Some people on here has had success with keeping broody and babies with the flock, but I like to eliminate any risk.

I am definitely going to move her with the new chicks & watch to see if she will accept them

 

[ssample4]

A couple days ago, one of my hens went broody and started to sit on 2 eggs. I candled the eggs and they’re starting to develop. I got new chicks from Tractor Supply today. Will the hen accept the new chicks if I put them under her? And should I throw out the old eggs? Or will the hen keep sitting on the old eggs?

How far into incubation are you? If you are almost to hatch day, I have heard that if you "sneak in during the dark of night" and slip the kids under her you will have a higher chance of her accepting... because she will think they hatched over night. I personally have NOT done this myself. But have read it.