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[Patricia W]

My friend has two buff orps who are forever going broody. I have fertilised Poland eggs. So we have chatted about using one of her broodies as Mum. However -

 

a) would this work with different types of chicken?

 

b) would we need to separate her two - or could we give each some eggs?

 

c) could we leave the chicks with both foster mums and for how long?

 

Advice welcome!

 

Tricia

 

PS we have thought about the cockerels we will undoubtedly get.

[Christian]

Yes, they could incubate and raise the chicks but I would separate them.

 

I would leave them with Mum for a good couple of weeks, but someone else will be along shortly to give more advice, I'm sure

[Daphne]

Hi Tricia - I don't quite know the answers to your questions but when we only had 2 L/F orps they were best friends. The younger one went broody and I wanted more polands so I put some banty eggs under her. We left the 2 hens together and everything was OK. Unfortunately the broody became ill and died so the experiment never finished. However, I'd be having 2nd thoughts about it now because of the size difference - L/F can be very clumsy (with eggs and chicks), but I'd certainly give it a go with a bantam orp - I'm not sure which your friend has. I think it also depends a bit on the 'sensibleness' of the hens. I know one of ours, for example, is too dim to ever be a mum.

 

Regarding 2 girls together - the advice is to separate them because 'broody hormones' (not sure if these really exist or not) can make the hens behave out of character. I think this would be easy if they both happened to be broody at the same time, because sitting on eggs would take their mind off everything else, but it would less straightforward if just one was. I know our two used to do everything together and didn't want to be separated. I suppose if you let them stay together you'd have to be very vigilant indeed when the eggs hatched and/or separate them near hatch day in case the hen without the eggs attacked.

 

Daph

[The Dogmother]

I'd separate the mothers and the chicks will need to be with them for at least 6 weeks.