putting incubated chicks with hen and her chicks

[CarolynEarley]

We have just successfully given a broody hen, Madge, three chicks from the incubator and she has adopted them - the chicks are now a week old. We know have three more eggs that have started to hatch today in another incubator and a broody hen, Hilda, sitting on eggs that are due to hatch in 5 days time. 08 We want to put the incubator eggs with one of the hens i.e. the one who has the three chicks already, or the one due to have chicks later in the week. My question is, which hen should we put the incubator chicks with? Is it better to put them with chicks older than them with Madge (, or younger than them with Hilda, or does it not make any difference? :?

 

[Lordcluck]

You can try giving them to the hen with the existing brood, She may accept them, but It would probably be safer to give them to the broody who has yet to hatch. Hens can detect the slight differences in size and development in chicks even a few days apart, and for some, this can trigger the instinct to reject the younger chicks.The fact that she only has three chicks in her brood, may also cause her to attack the younger chicks as she will be aware that their has been a sudden increase in chick numbers, and this may arouse her suspicions.
Other factors such as the colour of chicks can also cause a hen to reject. if the original brood of three are all the same or of similar colours,any new chicks introduced of a completely different colour are likely to be rejected.
Why not try the chicks with Madge first?,If she is a docile, ' Mumsy' hen, you may not encounter any problems with the introduction.Try placing the three newbies under her at night, and be there in the morning as she leads them out, and watch her carefully. Some hens will appear to accept new chicks initially, only to turn on them a few hours later. If the introduction fails, save them for the hen due to hatch, you shouldnt have any problems there. Just be sure to allow the hen to have all of her own brood hatched, dried and ready to move before you place the fosters under her, say on the first night of the hatch day.This is because the incubator chicks being older and stronger, will be ready to move away from the nest area immediately, and they may draw the hen after them before her own brood have finished hatching properly or have found their feet yet.

 

[CarolynEarley]

Fantastic ... thanks very much for the reply.

 

[Blue]

just a warning ...

we had a broody who, once the first chick hatched was so absorbed in it that she left the nest and the eggs got cold (even with us putting her back regularly)
when the second egg started, she and the first chick kept pecking at it..

we removed it and the eggs to the incubator & hatched anoither 4 (it took a while!)

after a while, they were given back to her.
they settled really well & "Mrs Light Sussex" the broody was really good. "Tiny" the chick was more funny, but as there were 4 of them & one of him/her it soon calmed down!

good luck

 

[chrismahon]

Bit too risky mixing ages as mummy won't give them enough heat -she'll be out with the older ones teaching them how to scratch. Other way and she will have to desert the unhatched eggs to attend to feeding the older chicks. Have you another hen you can put them under?

 

[Chuck]

I agree with chrismahon re. the hen and week old chicks. She and the chicks will be much too active to put newly hatched ones with and the chances are they will get cold and get ill or die.

You could try the incubator hatched ones with the second broody but you would have to keep them seperate until her own eggs have hatched and the chicks are at least a day old. You try them but keep a close eye to make sure she has accepted them. If you put the chicks in while she is on the eggs, she will leave the eggs and go off with the chicks.

 

[CarolynEarley]

Just to let you know we left Madge with her chicks and then sneaked three incubator chicks into Hilda who had been sitting on more eggs that did not hatch. All seem to be happy so 'mission accomplished'.