Hi,

I was very excited about my new chicks yesterday and got to thinking about if the mother kicks one out how would i get a hen seperate cage + nesting box( who also has eggs) to adopt the unwanted chick?

If someone could run me through the process it would be great. nothing ergant but would like to have some idea for future referance

I don't think a mother with only eggs would adopt a chick. A mother with chicks would adopt a chick. A mother with eggs would adopt an egg.

Fostering chicks needs careful thought. A newly hatched chick can be fostered to another nest if the foster mother has eggs and chicks of her own. I have also fostered newly hatched chicks to a nest where the mother had eggs only as well, but at a stage where she was expecting her own eggs to be hatching too so she thought the chick was hers and fed it.

You can foster chicks into nests where there are similar aged chicks. Best you dont foster any chicks that are fully feathered ( around 4 weeks ) as they are seen as an adult invading a nestbox.