6 weeks old chicks lost mama last night

[Scottish-Hen]

mama Mystie was pretty lifeless this morning. Gave her nutri drops but she passed. Done cpr for 4 minutes and she came back for three theni lost her again. Hubby stopped me at 10 minutes. She was gone.

She has 12 6 week old chicks who have been indoor only - planed to move out this weekend. What do I need to do for the chicks. The eat/drink ok and all sleep snuggled together.

I have another mama Greycie who's chicks are already outside and doing well. If I put these chicks in with Greycie will she take them on? Will chicks cope ok without mama?

I'm utterly devastated. It's not been a good week and it's only Monday.

 

[QueenMisha]

So sorry for your loss, it's always hard... although if you don't mind, I would love to hear your CPR technique. I wasn't aware this was even possible to perform on a bird.

The hen will not adopt them, chicks will only be adopted in the first several days of life. The 6 week olds should cope OK on their own, especially since there are so many of them. I would wait until they are 8 weeks to move them in with the rest of the flock, since they ought to be on medicated feed until around then. For now, you should make a separated area of the run with chicken wire, and place a dog crate inside the coop for night time... keep them confined to these areas until 8 weeks, then add them to the flock by placing them on the roost beside the adults at night. As for feed, you should switch the whole flock to a non-med grower around 18% protein, and supplement with a dish of oyster shell. Around 12-13 weeks you can begin mixing grower and layer, and at 16-18 weeks everybody can go on a layer feed.

 

[donrae]

At 6 weeks they should be fine on their own. They may fuss and call for her a lot, but they'll get over it in a day or so. I'd put them with the older chicks from the other hen's brood and let them all be together.