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Post by quambie on Dec 25, 2011 10:39:39 GMT 8
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Post by lakelands on Dec 29, 2011 18:50:09 GMT 8
Hi Trev...
most hens will adopt chicks that are around the same age as her own chicks....so long as you put them under her at night. once the age difference gets to more that about a week to 2 weeks its not so easy
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Post by quambie on Dec 30, 2011 18:35:03 GMT 8
Love it you never stop learning do you Thanks for the info Trev
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belle
Full Member
Posts: 147
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Post by belle on Dec 31, 2011 9:35:24 GMT 8
I've got a Pekin hen who will look after anything - she's mum to an Australorp/Light Sussex cross at the moment (looks a bit weird, Pecky is so little compared to her "child") but she will raise anything. She even mothers the quails when they get sick and old. Our next door neighbours dog would mother their ducklings. Gyp would even steal the littlies off the mother ducks, push them up to his kennel and chew up his biscuits so they would have something to eat. Then he'd take them to water for a drink and a swim. When it was time for sleep, back to kennel they'd go. It was a good system until he died and the mother ducks had no idea how to look after their young.
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Post by linda29 on Dec 31, 2011 9:48:15 GMT 8
I have a fantastic welsummer hen who has 8 of her own 5 day olds and three days ago i had to get her to foster another 6 chicks as the brooder light broke. As this happened during the day, I thought it be difficult for her to accept them but I made up a wet mix of chick feed and feed it to the mum and her littlies and while they were busy eating i snuck the other 3 days olds in amongst the feeding chicks. I watched for an hour and all went well and at night I put some of the straglers in bed with her and the last 2 mornings i have been feeding her brood of 14 with a wet mash to help her out. All is going smoothly and I haven't had a problem. I think all has gone well as they are the same colour as her chicks. I will keep this great broody for as long as she lasts as good broodies are worth their weight in gold. Happy New Year. Cheers Linda
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