Can I just sneak chicks under broody hen?

[CedarRanch]

I have a broody hen. I don’t want any more barnyard mix chicks. I would like to buy some specific breeds. Is it possible to take out the eggs and just put chicks under her?? She started sitting on eggs today. Should I wait a few weeks and then sneak them under?

 

[sourland]

The closer to 21 days that a hen has been setting, the more likely that she will accept/foster chicks. Experienced mothers provide almost guaranteed acceptance. Slip chicks under her in the evening and monitor early in the morning to make sure all is going well.

 

[Yardfulla poopers]

My neighbors did this successfully. My understanding is you need to wait until it is close to hatching time (21 days).
If it were me, I would pull out eggs daily so they could still be eaten and add new eggs each day until the 21 day mark, then add chicks.

 

[CedarRanch]

My neighbors did this successfully. My understanding is you need to wait until it is close to hatching time (21 days).
If it were me, I would pull out eggs daily so they could still be eaten and add new eggs each day until the 21 day mark, then add chicks.

I might put fake eggs under her!

 

[FuzzyDinoNuggets]

it’s best to wait a couple weeks, but it’s important that the chicks are less than three days old. If thy look too old, she will reject them. Make sure that she has plenty of food and water near by.

 

[Yardfulla poopers]

I might put fake eggs under her!

I would think she would be able to tell fake eggs from real, but given how trance like they get when they are broodY, I could be wrong.

 

[Slothinc]

I would suggest either fake eggs, or unfertilized eggs. But if you do use real eggs, mark them so you don’t accidentally collect to eat! And you will probably want to candle them once a week to ensure they don’t go bad. I would probably put chicks under her anywhere from 10-25 days, depending on when you can get them. For my girls, if they are sitting for a week, they are reliably broody enough to accept chicks. Just make sure to do day-old chicks and remove the eggs when you slip them under.

 

[Yardmom]

Part of the reason for using chicks that are less than 3 days old is so the chicks are more likely to attach to the hen. I've seen the suggestion of allowing chicks to get a bit cool before giving them to the hen.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

A broody hen will happily set on golf balls.

 

[FuzzyDinoNuggets]

A broody hen will happily set on golf balls.

My nesting boxes have golf balls, and when one of my hens went broody, she moved all of the golf balls to the side of the box and sat on only the eggs