Adding Chicks to a Broody Hen - Tips for a Successful Adoption

It's always risky when you're dealing with broody hens and chicks, but it's great when it works out! We share our tips for helping this go as smoothly as possible.

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[Teacher-ljin]

Such a beautiful lady with so much love to give...a perfect mother!!

[Jayrezah]

Ive got a few chicks from an incubator they hatched the eggs we left for the brooding chickens havent hatched yet i thought id surprise them sneaking a baby under them and they went nuts tryna kill it i didnt expect that instinctively i grabbed the chickens by the neck before they could do any real damage to the baby that night i put them under one of the non broody hens and she took them in as her own she also happens to be the biggest toughest of the lot so i know she will protect those babies even if she has to kill the brooding fuckers

[eqxine._]

Have you had chicks squashed by the hen and other eggs? One morning I went down to my coop and saw a chick hatching, but I couldn’t stay and help as I had school, but after school I went down to the coop and there was no chick and the hen had left to another nest. I saw a black thing in the nest, and thought it was poo. After grieving a bit over the chick not hatching (what I thought At the time) I decided to clean the nest out as the other hens wouldn’t appreciate poo in their nest.. but then I realised there was bits of shell on the other eggs, and put the box into the light instinctively. I then saw the fluff that’s on baby chickens, and then a beak.. I flipped it over with a stick and saw legs. I figured it had been squashed, but I didn’t know that could happen as I’ve never heard of it before and it was my first time with a broody hen. Has this happened to you yet?

[SapphireSmoothiez]

I just got chicks for my broody silkie and this worked!! I'm so happy, thank you so much!!

[BreakTheIce]

Great video. I think there's 2 things to consider: the temperament of the hen, and the age of the chicks. I've had great adoptive hens that have adopted chicks in broad daylight without any hesitation. The age of the chicks matters more though; once they are more than 2 days old they've usually imprinted on something else if they were hatched in an incubator, so they simply don't follow the hen around when she tries to lead them to food, etc.

[stevemlejnek]

I have a broody hen now that looks exactly like this hen of yours! Since I have no rooster, I plan to slip some day old chicks under her this evening under cover of dark. She has been sitting on wooden eggs for 20 days.

[FarmallFanatic]

I have some Rhode Island reds that are hatching on Saturday and I also have a broody hen that has 3 week old chicks so that's going to add an extra dynamic

[WillowCreekHomestead]

Wonderful information and very well delivered thank you

[chickenmanedbrown]

Same thing I do what I do is I put empty egg shells with the Broody hen and she eat them Broody hens eat the eggshells that keep a code active in the birds thoughts. That they are her real siblings. I've done it with chicks that are 2 weeks old or more

[EowynG]

This was exactly my question-- not just a broody hen but a hen whose chicks already hatched. Thanks for your short, straight to the point video!!!

[tnia]

MY HEN IS BROODY AAA I’ve never had a broody chicken omg why do I keep watching these videos I’m just so excited

[zannegears]

The best time for keeping chicks under broody hen is at night when there are asleep

[jclk]

I just raise the chicks myself and then there a lot friendlier

[pattikemp-gettmann]

I did it during the day and she seen me do it. Took right to them

[randygreen]

I’m in that “doesn’t go so well category” yet again. My broody hen was sitting on a clutch of 7 but two hatched early and she left her eggs to tend to the chicks. I put the extra eggs into an incubator and three hatched and before I put them back with the momma I let them fluff out really well. The last time I did this I made the mistake of adding an almost fluffed out chick back with her and she scalped it. Everything was fine for two days but just now I noticed she has scalped two of the three. Hhhhmmmm maybe she senses they are weaker than the rest or just prefers to save what appears to be the roo chicks. Anyway, I have three more chicks hatching out and I’ll probably just brood them separately until they are able to fend for themselves. It seems there is no rhyme or reason for this behavior but it sure is heartbreaking to see it happen.

[DaysOfSodaAndLantana]

Do you see a difference in the “tame mess” or temperament of chicks raised by you in a brooder as opposed to one’s raised by a broody hen?

[alyssalubinsky]

Hi i have a couple of brooding hens, Australorps, and they (for some reason) are brooding in the same nesting box. We recently gave the brooding hens some chicks (in hopes to get eggs again soon), and last night we put them underneath the moms and they are alive. Today we were peeking and it doesn’t seem like the babies have gotten a chance to eat. Their food and water is all accessible in the coop but the moms haven’t let the chicks out to eat. The brooding mommas keep pushing the chicks back underneath themselves. One chick slipped out to eat earlier and was greeted by being pecked at by one of the brooding hens. Any advice?

[amd.amdamd]

Just put them under the hen at night without her seeing it. She would accept them as her own

[courtneypinder]

My mama hatched 2 babies Sunday. I'd like to give her 10 more chicks tomorrow (as her clutch were duds but the 2) night that hatched Wednesday. I'm hoping she accepts them.

[samirali]

How do we tell if the incubator hatched the chicks?