Chickens do not feed their young. Chicks are hatched knowing how to eat and drink. Newly hatched chicks do not need food or water for up to 72 hours after they emerge from the shell, they will dry out, fluff up and start to explore their surrounding under the watchful eye of the mother hen. After a day or two they will venture out of the nest and search for food without the mothers help.
No, hens do not typically feed baby turkeys. Turkeys have specific nutritional needs and usually receive specialized feed to ensure proper growth and development.
does it really matter ??
By verbal communication, and even by sight. To a human all chicks peep the same, but to a mother hen, she can tell which chicks are hers and which are not.
It is called to cluck.You say: The hen clucked at her chicks.
Yes.
You don't need to remove the chick from its brood hen, they will integrate into the flock when they are ready and the momma hen will protect it while it is growing. The chick does not really need the momma hen other than for protection and warmth on cold nights. The hen does not feed the chick, it knows how to feed itself from the time it emerged from the shell.
No. A broody hen will hatch a brood of chicks the way nature intended. Incubators or a brood hen are the only two ways to get chicks, egg won't hatch into chicks without the proper conditions of heat and humidity for 21 days.
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Yes, the hen is careful not to squash the chicks. Hens sit on the clutch of eggs for three weeks without crushing them. Once the chicks start to hatch the hen is extra careful and often gets adjusts her position. The hatching chicks will stay under the mother hen for a few days and even when they venture out, they will dive back under her for protection.
they are called chicks
A hen will likely not adopt chicks unless she has chicks of the same age already. Hens will protect her nest from even the smallest chicks introduced so it is not a good idea to try to force a hen to "mother" newly hatched chicks. Keep the young chicks in the brooder box until they are older and can defend themselves. It is not the rooster they need to worry about, he will ignore them, the most damage will come from older hens establishing the pecking order of the flock. Chicks and mother can be introduced back into the flock by about 2 to 3 months. There will still be some squabbling, but the chicks are old enough and fast enough to escape the worst of the punishment. Momma hen will help them. There is not much worry from the rooster.
There are a lot of reasons TO TAKE the chicks from the hen. However, it is kind of fun to watch the hen with her chicks, if you have the room to isolate them from the flock.A few reasons to take chick from hen:Make sure chick gets adequate nourishmentKeep chicks safe from larger birdsKeep chicks isolated for their protectionReduce exposure of chicks to avian diseases/viruses/bacteria until they are older and able to handle the exposure