We share how we get Mama hens to adopt outside chicks
Пікірлер: 77
@75blackviking3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for this great guide. You clearly know your subject. Introducing baby chicks to broody hens has always been a tricky proposition in my coop.
@Shinzon233 жыл бұрын
*hen* hmmn. I seem to have gained another chick. Oh well.
@cherylangel17143 жыл бұрын
I have never had a brooding hen refuse new babies "sneaking" them under her at night, but this way is interesting too! Good to know I don't have to wait until dark to give new additions to mommy hens
@MidiElls Жыл бұрын
I introduced a few chicks one at a time over the span of a couple weeks to a month with one of my hens. She is a silkie and hadn’t even laid her first egg, months off from doing so, and has never been broody. Hani made for an awesome mother. At first she resisted. She was the lowest in the pecking order and tended to keep to herself just staring into the sky or ceiling all day. I brought her inside and she happily raised six baby chicks all up. Eventually I did try putting more under her while her current chicks were about a month or two old, but she rejected every one of them and tried to go after and hurt them. I don’t doubt that she will eventually come around, but she still is mama bear to her now four month old babies.
@dravenq6928Ай бұрын
My hen only had 1 egg successfully hatch out of 8. She’s been with it for five days today so I decided to buy 6 and introduce them to her and she accepted all of them 😊
@MilkAndHoneyAcreageАй бұрын
Don’t you just love that?
@kimberlygates44883 жыл бұрын
Thanks for posting this video. Answered question I had with a situation I have right now!
@zoemarialawson8943 Жыл бұрын
did your hen accept new chicks? did she already have chicks? Its April 2023 & i have 2 week old chicks & now 4 day old chicks...i pray mamas accept them
@cazsantics5253 ай бұрын
So informative. Absolutely brilliant.
@meganjohnson6601 Жыл бұрын
This is great info! Thank you!
@hash15783 жыл бұрын
Superb video 👍
@kristen7775 Жыл бұрын
I'm so glad I watched this video before trying to introduce day old chicks to a mom who only got 2 of 4 eggs that hatched. She adamantly rejected them and even tried to kill one. I didn't dare try to sneak them under her at night after that. I believe you saved the lives of for darling little babies who I'll raise on my own.
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage Жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@wilbertflores95682 жыл бұрын
Thanks for your video!!!
@phoenixeunoia1563 жыл бұрын
It was really inspiring I'll try this out tomorrow. My hen just hatched and I want to introduce a new chick to it I was trying to sneak it in the night but I'll just introduce the chick to the hen and I hope she accepts the new chick. And it's also her first time with chicks
@zoemarialawson8943 Жыл бұрын
I have 3 hens that sat on eggs & co hatched. they will be 2 weeks old this coming week. Today I bought 2 5 day or so chicks at tractor supply & tonight put under good mama cochin hen, but after watching this I will get up before dawn & get the new chicks & mamas and my 2 weeks old and watch them!!! I pray mine 1 out of 3 will accept the new leg horn pullets! My other chicks are silkie cochin mixes. April 2023
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage Жыл бұрын
Definitely watch them she may kill them if they are much smaller than her older chicks.
@zoemarialawson8943 Жыл бұрын
@@MilkAndHoneyAcreage mamas hate them . I have inside. They follow me
@TheHealthyChickenProject Жыл бұрын
This is a really well done video about foster hens. I’m surprised that the views are not in the millions.
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much! Wouldn’t that be something if they were? 😱
@lukepence1028 Жыл бұрын
My Broody hen lost her only chick Two Hawk and then 3 days later I went to Tractor Supply and got four chicks and she took to them right away
@leannekilman3 жыл бұрын
Very helpful
@UniversityofBirds2 жыл бұрын
Informative
@eddieandrews38543 жыл бұрын
Are you in VA? I have a farm in central VA and wondered how close you are.
@luigidisanpietro37203 жыл бұрын
My Rooster back in the farm adopts chicks too... I do not know if it is natural, or that my pet Claude Bantam really just has a Motherly side....
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage3 жыл бұрын
That’s very common and normal for roosters. They are wonderful with chicks and will take good care of them!
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage3 жыл бұрын
That’s very common and normal for roosters. They are wonderful with chicks and will take good care of them!
@bathdragonren3 жыл бұрын
what's the title of the music that plays at the start?
@julietorres6339 Жыл бұрын
So it looks like you keep mama and the babies in a separate area from the rest? It's my first time with a broody hen and I've learned a lot from your videos. Thanks so much!
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage Жыл бұрын
I do during the night but during the day they free range altogether most of the time.
@ln46952 жыл бұрын
Hi. Such great information!!! So you never separate mama and babies from flock? They are all together the entire process?
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage2 жыл бұрын
Yes they are together with the flock the entire process.
@zoemarialawson8943 Жыл бұрын
@@MilkAndHoneyAcreage hey i got 2 leghorn pullets about 5 days old at TS tonight & like a idiot thought mamas ( i have 3 with checks they hatched together) I thought i can just sneak babies in at night. Its 12am and i went out with flashlight & all still ok. But im getting up before day light & be sure mamas dont attack them at daylight! My mamas are a cochin bantam, a silkie, and a silkie cochin cross. Its April 2023.
@whynotmysterious9 ай бұрын
I just added one chick to a hen who is already taking care of her 15 chicks...if it goes well I will add remaining 3 to her at night... hoping for the best , so I'm just here reassuring my action 😅
@joannem.possumato40502 жыл бұрын
I have two mama Cochin hens with 2 young chicks each and a clutch of eggs in an incubator from my rooster who recently died. They are due to hatch today and one is already pecking out of the shell. Is it better to put the i hatches eggs under the hens or better to wait for them to hatch? One hen sometimes pecks the other mama’s two younger chicks so I’m concerned about that dynamic and the more aggressive hen even rejecting the other hens family…..so is sooner better than after they’ve all hatched?
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage2 жыл бұрын
I would not put hatching eggs under a hen unless she was broody. Since her chicks are already hatched it’s better to give her the chicks after they are hatched and walking around. Just keep in mind she may not take them. It’s normal for hens to peck at other chicks in the flock it’s their way of establishing order.
@melaneywilkey26522 жыл бұрын
What breed is that hen? Dominique or Barred Rock? I have a barred rock and have been wondering if she would naturally go broody. She is also at the top of the pecking order, so I thought she would be the best option
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage2 жыл бұрын
She’s actually a Americauna mixed with black sexlink.
@fionahankinson1317 ай бұрын
Hi there, we have 3 mamas co-parenting only 6 chicks that are now about 2 weeks old (they all went broody together and we put eggs under them from the others as they were laid, but after 6 chicks hatched they were happy enough and abandoned the nest). We've just started incubating 10 eggs, so the older chicks will be 5 weeks before the new ones are hatched. Is this too late to try to add more chicks? I think it probably will be too late but thought I'd ask as am new to all this. Thank you!
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage4 ай бұрын
Yes probably so.
@barbarawalker3620 Жыл бұрын
❤💗👍
@darlenejoyce77923 жыл бұрын
I have a hen that has hatched 6 chick and they are between 1 and a half to 2 weeks old. Little different in age because 3 eggs were placed under her from a different chicken. The mom is an australorp. I've found some Rhode Island Red chicks of the same age that I really want to get. What are my chances of her accepting them? I don't have any Rhode Island Reds and really want some bc they are pullets and I need more hens.
@lizxu322 Жыл бұрын
Maybe? Depends on the chicken...how did u go?
@the_hearthfire3 жыл бұрын
If my broody hen will accept new chicks, do you think I could add young(few days old) chicks when hers are 2 weeks old already?
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage3 жыл бұрын
That might be pushing it but you can try and see how she reacts.
@chrisony93413 жыл бұрын
She's going to peck at them cos she has already identified her own at two weeks
@destinyskyecarter Жыл бұрын
I have been trying to introduce baby chicks to a broody hen. She has been sitting for monthsssss. I take her off of eggs every day so these past couple weeks I have let her sit in another coop on eggs, went and bought baby chicks (1 day old) and have been trying to put under her for 3 days and she is puffing up and pecking them. I know there’s a normal amount like you said in your video but she has feathers from them in her beak so I brought them back inside. I don’t feel like she is going to accept them. Do you have any suggestions ? Or is this normal behavior? I don’t want to risk her killing them
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage Жыл бұрын
No you can not introduce chicks to a broody hen only a hen that has recently hatched chicks of her own. Sometimes on a rare occasion a hen will take them in but only if she’s hatched chicks before. They have to go through the whole process of hatching chicks before they will adopt. Otherwise she will kill them.
@KulwinderKaur-sd4fk2 жыл бұрын
How many eggs did the hen laying....plz tell me soon..... 🙏
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage2 жыл бұрын
They lay about 1 a day. Some take a couple days off a week.
@FarmallFanatic4 жыл бұрын
13 eggs wow!
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage4 жыл бұрын
Farmall Fanatic My giant Cochins can sit on 20! 😱😂
@FarmallFanatic4 жыл бұрын
@@MilkAndHoneyAcreage they hatch all 20?
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage4 жыл бұрын
Yes they are big and fluffy and great mothers. You could probably fit more than 20!
Does having a few broody hens in a flock influence the whole flock to tend more toward broodiness?
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage2 жыл бұрын
Yes when one goes broody sometimes several will follow suit but nothing makes your flock go broody like new chicks on the farm. If you can’t get your hens to go broody just bring some chicks home and they will all rush to have their own. Lol you know what they say about baby fever!
@leea48392 жыл бұрын
Ive got a question. We had a Silkie hen, hatch 7 eggs. After a few days we had to seperate one of the chicks as she had a cut on her back. Its been 3 weeks of healing inside with us. Now the mother hen has rejected the chick and wont let her re-intergrate, she pecks at it whenever it gets too close to the others. Any advice on getting this one back in with the flock?
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage2 жыл бұрын
Oh man that’s too sad! My advice is to put it in a cage within your coop for a couple of weeks or until it’s grown enough to integrate. Once they’re used to seeing it everyday it will be an easier transition. They will still show it the pecking order but at least it will be older and can handle the pecking. A little pecking is ok but constant unrelenting pecking is not. So make sure to hang around a lot when you release it to the flock.
@leea48392 жыл бұрын
@@MilkAndHoneyAcreage I Appreciate the reply, we will give that a go and slowly make it happen. happy farming :)
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage2 жыл бұрын
@@leea4839 Hope it works out for you!
@illinoisvideoatlarge8039 Жыл бұрын
@@leea4839 how did it go?
@leea4839 Жыл бұрын
@@illinoisvideoatlarge8039 once the hen (which turned out the be a rooster) got older which only took a few months. It started to get closer and then one evening we couldn’t find it and it was in the coop behind the others. After that it became part of the flock. Feathers grew back completely and now rules the roost.
@genevievecollett4640 Жыл бұрын
How do you introduce chicks before she hatches eggs, won't she abandon eggs that haven't hatched?
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage Жыл бұрын
No she will not abandon her eggs she’s more likely to kill the chicks you put under her. She had to have hatched chicks first before you can introduce other chicks.
@bridgetjohnson6573 Жыл бұрын
What do you do when a green didn't accept??? I'm having that problem😢
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage Жыл бұрын
Then you need to raise them in a brooder.
@elizabethandandrewsebastia37072 жыл бұрын
At what time do you leave chicks all night with adoptive mom?
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage2 жыл бұрын
As soon as I know she’s taken them in pretty much right away. I usually check on them in the evening and make sure they are under her.
@varonicasanchez93283 ай бұрын
I had a hen that would take 2 chicks and rejected the others 😢
@lizxu322 Жыл бұрын
Problem is that chick imprinted on you before it had a chance to imprint on the hen
@MilkAndHoneyAcreage Жыл бұрын
No it doesn’t work that way with chicks they don’t really attach to humans unless they are a lone chick and even then not really. They are more dependent on other chicks if they are from and incubator.
@novascotianinfj10 ай бұрын
my hen pecked he new chick to death...... I caugh it too late