New baby chick help!

Hello, new to the group, happy to be here.....
We have been raising chickens since April 2015, I have been using your site to answer so many of my questions Thru these last seven months, Thank you!
So we have 18 hens and roosters mix, 12 raised from babies, 6 adopted and inter grated in to the flock. We have a mix of bantams RIR, lace Wyandotte's, buff Orpington, Astrolopes, speckled Cochins , , , , anyway one hen went broody, was sitting on a clutch of 10 eggs, but only one hatched! Cutest little thing hangs out in mamas wings, chirps a lot, looks healthy. I kept them in the nesting box she laid all eggs in, moved box into a big wire cage inside the hen house, added water and baby chick food. Finally moms is hoping around, looks like she is finally giving up on the older eggs that did not hatch out. Yesterday I opened the cage and she hopped out ran around the coop, checked out everything.....I gave her treats, she hoped in the corn/ grit pail ate, scratched a bit....all the while the baby was having a fit...chirping at the top of it lungs.......then baby tried to squeeze out thru the cage wires to follow mom. Baby got stuck, had to push him back thru, momma hopped back in, then all settled down.
So my question is, baby in 2.5 weeks old now, do I open the cage and let them run free in and out of the hen house, into the frozen coup run, and just be free with the rest of the flock? Will baby freeze? We have been having below 30 degree nights, ice all over till noonish, will the flock attack baby if she follow momma? Will mom keep baby warm enough if she is out of cage running with the flock? I tend to let them free range around the farm on weekends, do I not let momma out to run free? There is a place I get feed, local farm, they had a mom and her 7 chicks just following her about, scratching, pecking at everything......running free? Is this the norm of letting mom raise the baby? Will she protect him? We are just so scared of loosing the One successful hatchling! Sorry for the long read....M~

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

Hi

Glad you could join the flock! Mother hen will keep the baby warm and she should also protect the baby form other flock members. The baby should follow her mother. Have the other flock members been able to see the mother and chick over the last couple of weeks? If so this should make it easier to get them back into the flock. I've only had one broody (I'm an incubator hatcher) but I let her out in the garden and the chicks followed her and she called them back when they went too far. Nature is a wonderful thing ~




Good luck and enjoy BYC

Thank you, this was what I assumed.......just needed positive reinforcement, thank you!

I can't really help you with the young chick, but I'm sure someone on this site can. Try posting this in the raising baby chicks section if you haven't already. Glad you joined!

I never separate my broodies and their chicks from the flock, and I have a few that go broody in winter (hardly gets above freezing during the day here in winter). Momma will keep an eye on them and keep them warm. But you have to remember that anything can happen and the chick may not make it. Just make sure the chick can follow everywhere momma can go; she won't understand why her baby can't follow her and will keep trying to get it to follow her (for example, momma can jump up to high places, but baby is still too small; she won't understand the baby can't jump that high).

Also some moms are just glad to get over maternal duties and hang with their friends - forgetting about the chicks. It's a lot easier for them to forget just ONE. Then too, some moms are not very protective of their chick(s) or have low standing in the pecking order. I would supervise them at first. If she goes off and leaves the chick to fend for itself - it could get very chilled or attacked by other birds.

You've received some good advice from previous posters so I'll just say hello and it's nice to have you here!

drumstick diva said:

Also some moms are just glad to get over maternal duties and hang with their friends - forgetting about the chicks.  It's a lot easier for them to forget  just ONE.  Then too, some moms are not very protective of their chick(s) or have low standing in the pecking order.   I would supervise them at first. If she goes off and leaves the chick to fend for itself - it could get very chilled or attacked by other birds.

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My silkie mommas go CRAZY trying to protect their babies, and they're practically at the bottom of the pecking order. Quite funny to see the big top hens run in fear of momma's wrath! Lol.

Good luck with your baby, Sunrae!

Thank you for all your helping words of wisdom. Today is the second day, I have let the flock free range, opened the side door on the cage, momma is out hoping, scratching about, baby is in and out of the cage. They hang in the hen house on the warm straw, its frozen here in Sequim Wa....so I have a red warming lamp on 24/7 in one part of the hen house, over baby's nest. Yesterday was the funniest! They were hanging in the hen house, others wanted to get back in about 3 pm, suns going down, cold setting in....but that baby got scared and started yelping, squawking, chirping at the top of its little lungs......all the roosters and hens came running out twice! Baby has them all inline already...too funny, so I had to put mom and baby back in the cage, so all could come back in. Funny because they are in a bunny cage in the hen house, each can see each other. Going to make a dust bath box inside for them today, since the ground is frozen outside under the apple trees.....Thanks again for all your help.....Happy Saturday!