Mother nature knows best. One of the greatest examples of this is watching a mother hen raise her own chicks! Incubating chicken eggs is fun, but a broody hen does a way better job than any incubator could ever do at hatching chicks. Raising those cute little fluff balls doesn’t have to be stressful when you know that mama hen knows exactly what to do for them.
There are a few important things to keep in mind when introducing a broody to chicks, for the best chance at a successful integration: Chicks should be no more than a couple days old at most. Your hen will know if you are trying to fool her with older chicks, and she will be far more likely to reject them.
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Why Do Some Hens Tend to Be More Broody?
Over the years, the broody instinct has been bred out of many chicken breeds in preference for production characteristics such as egg production. Since hens stop laying when they are broody it is not a desired trait in many production breeds.
Some light breeds, such as breeds in the Mediterranean or Continental breed classes, are flightier and more active, and therefore less likely to want to brood a batch of chicks. These include Minorcas, Sicilian Buttercups, Hamburgs, and Lakenvelders.
However, other chicken breeds still retain the full instinct to be broody, which is essential for keeping the species alive. Large breeds, such as breeds in the English or Asiatic breed classes, are usually more inclined to be broody.
Here are some breeds that are known to have strong brooding instincts:
- Australorp
- Orpington
- Cochin
- Silkie
- Japanese bantams
- Old English game bantams
Many times, a broody hen from one breed will be used to raise chicks of different breeds or even different poultry species! When it comes to brooding, broody hens don’t seem to care what their babies look like, just so long as they have babies to care for.
Caring for Your Broody Hen
After you have given a broody hen a clutch of eggs to sit on, you just need to make sure momma hen has everything she needs, such as nutritious food and fresh water. She will take care of the rest. For example, a broody hen will know just what temperature and humidity her eggs need, as well as when and how to turn them in the nest.
What you can do is make sure that the broody hen always has plenty of fresh, clean water and food available for when she leaves the nest on short breaks. Keep an eye on the food and water levels so that you can tell if she is getting up to eat and drink periodically.
Don’t worry if she doesn’t leave the nest for the first few days after being given her clutch of eggs–this is normal. Kick-starting the incubation process requires her undivided attention, so she may not leave the nest to eat or drink until a few days into the incubation period.
Eventually, she will get up to eat, drink, and relieve herself. In which case, you will need to remove a giant, stinky broody poop from the brooding pen!
You can feed the broody hen scratch grains rather than layer feed to help keep her poops more solid and to help keep her weight up during this time of naturally low food consumption.
After the first few days of sitting on the nest, the broody hen will take 5- to 20-minute breaks every few days to eat, drink, and stretch her legs. Remove any broody poops from the brooding pen on a regular basis and continue to ensure that the hen’s food and water are always full and fresh.
When it gets down to the last three days of the incubation period, you may notice that the broody hen once again will not leave the nest at all. Dont try to encourage her to move at this point. She knows what she is doing. The eggs need higher humidity prior to hatching and the temperature must also be correct for hatching time.
As it gets closer to hatch day, you will hear the mother hen clucking and murmuring to her chicks as she encourages them to hatch. Even if you hear little peeps coming from under the mother hen, don’t disturb her! The hatching chicks needs the correct temperature and humidity that mother hen is providing during hatch time.
The most you should do during the hatching period is help guide any chicks who happen to wander too far from their mama hen back to her side so she doesn’t have to leave her nest.
All the chicks should hatch within a few hours of each other. Then the mama hen will leave the nest and start teaching her chicks where to find food, water, and how to explore their environment!
If there are any eggs left in the nest, you can examine them for pips (a sign that a chick may still hatch) or candle them to see if they even developed or not. Any eggs that don’t hatch can be removed from the brooding pen.
Sometimes a draggy hatch will occur, in which case not all the eggs hatch within a few hours of each other. Sometimes the mother hen will stay on her nest until she is sure all of the eggs that are going to hatch have successfully hatched.
However, if the hatch is taking too long, a mother hen may leave her nest to care for the hatched chicks even when other chicks are still hatching from their eggs. This can be dangerous for the chicks who haven’t hatched since the shell membrane could dry out and trap the chick inside the egg.
If that happens, you will want to encourage the mama hen to return to her nest by removing her food and water for the time being. Without food and water, she may return to her nest and finish the job of letting the remaining chicks hatch.
If that doesn’t work, you will need to remove the chicks that have already hatched so that mama hen can focus on caring for the eggs that are still in the process of hatching. Once all the eggs have hatched, you can return all the baby chicks to mama hen.
In rare cases, a mother hen will completely reject her hatchlings. This most often occurs when a mother hen is brooding for the first time, however, it is not common in general. If a mother hen completely ignores her chicks or even shows aggression towards them, you will have to be prepared to care for the chicks yourself. You will need to set up a brooder for the chicks and be their surrogate mother.
How to Get a Hen to Raise Baby Chicks
FAQ
Can you put baby chicks with grown hens?
Can you leave baby chicks with hens?
Will a mother hen reject a chick?
Will hens peck baby chicks?
When should I put my Hens in with young chicks?
The actual age that you decide to put the young chicks in with the grownup hens depends on a few variables. If your hens have a lot of space to roam around, you can put the chicks out a little younger. When you first combine the two age groups, do it about an hour before sunset.
Do eggs from home-raised chickens need to be refrigerated?
Home-raised chickens eggs should be refrigerated once they are free of feathers and poop. Although, unwashed eggs with cuticles intact can safely be stored at room temperature, but, refrigerating them will help them last longer; about 5 or 6 weeks.
Does a Mama hen protect baby chicks?
A mama hen will protect her chicks, but baby chicks with no mother hen should be integrated slowly. Photo by Pixabay. When new chicks are introduced into an established flock, the hierarchal order is thrown into disarray. Chickens don’t like change, and are sensitive to stressors. Older hens might stop laying from the stress of newcomers.
How do you keep baby chicks safe?
Scare devices, like fake owls or snakes, can also help keep them at bay. Baby chicks are prone to accidents due to their small size and curious nature. Restricting their access to dangerous areas, ensuring the coop and run are well-maintained, and monitoring their activities can help prevent accidents.