Do I need to separate a hen and chicks from the flock?

Thank you everyone. I am slowly integrating them into the group. Even the aggressive one seems to be accepting them. Momma kicks their buts if they get to close to the chicks. I am still being very careful however because she does not always pay attention to where all of them are and often gets separated from them. But in general they are doing well. She usually takes a circle around the yard with her chicks, has a dust bath and then returns to the run with the chicks. I then close them up. Everyone seems happy. I have included a photo of the family taking a dust bath.

RobAFish said:

Thank you everyone. I am slowly integrating them into the group. Even the aggressive one seems to be accepting them. Momma kicks their buts if they get to close to the chicks. I am still being very careful however because she does not always pay attention to where all of them are and often gets separated from them. But in general they are doing well. She usually takes a circle around the yard with her chicks, has a dust bath and then returns to the run with the chicks. I then close them up. Everyone seems happy. I have included a photo of the family taking a dust bath.

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What a beautiful momma and she doesn't look like she's gonna take any crap from anyone! Good luck with them!

bobbi-j said:

I would be more likely to separate the hen that was being aggressive to the chicks, if she was going after them and trying to harm them. Let mama and babies integrate with the rest of the flock. And if that hen’s bad behavior were to continue, I’d give some serious thought to removing her from the flock.

The nice thing about introducing hen and chicks to the flock when the chicks are smaller is, she is more likely to protect them than when they’re older. And, if something were to happen to her, they’ll already be part of the flock. That happened here - hen and chicks were integrated when chicks were about a week old. When they were 5 weeks old, a raccoon got the hen, but the chicks were already accepted members of the flock.

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Everyone's situation is different. Our flock free ranges, so it's a blessing for the mother to not have all the stress of trying to protect her little ones for a few weeks, and in the pen they can still interact with the flock. Just as with any new birds, the new ones should have some shelter and protection from the flock, as they get acquainted. We never just dump a new bird in with the flock and hope for the best, although I know some people think it's ok to do it that way. You can't blame the birds already in the flock for being aggressive to a new bird, chick or not. We've had mother hens stay with their young for weeks after being let out with the flock, at four or five weeks, so the issue of her protecting them from the flock at that stage, or showing them what to do, is not a concern, and they are much better at defending themselves if need be.

I have 67 baby chicks girls and boys. My question is when should I separate the bay boys from the girls? They are 3weeks old

I usually separate them when they start chasing and trying to mate them. That varies across breeds. Could be as young as 10 weeks or as late as 20 weeks.