Broody Hen Adopts Hatchery Chicks

This time of year we have several broody hens. Hens brood because mother nature tells them it's time to hatch the next generation. They usually lay a clutch of eggs, sit on them day and night, keeping them warm and protecting them from predators and other chickens. For 21 days these hens get a blank stare in their face and will squeal and peck at you when you try to remove their eggs.

This is all well and good, but we don't want a bunch of random eggs hatched out on the farm. We usually let all the breeds run together and cross bread chickens are unmarketable. So sometime in late February we start isolating the best chickens from each breed and putting them with their appropriate roo.  So by the time the hens begin to brood in March we can put a few eggs under each of the brooders.  It's an amazing thing to watch a mother hen take care of newly hatched chicks.

This particular hen did not hatch the eggs we put under her for one reason or another. We decided to see if she would adopt some day old chicks that we had just picked up from a local breeder.

Success! Mother bonded with chicks and, just as important, chicks bonded with mother. So next time we try this, we may give the mother a few more chicks.