Can I introduce 14 6-week old chicks into the coop with adult with 1 lame leg?

[Nacole]

Hi all! I was seeking advice on how to introduce my 6-week old chicks to a single laying hen that is a little over a year old. This hen is the sole survivor of a brutal raccoon and eagle attack on our flock last year. She has a lame leg and just hops around everywhere she needs to go. She's so sweet and has been through a lot. She sometimes flies out of the coop and goes to visit the chicks. My question is...Is it safe for her for me to put the babies in with her? I'm a little worried they may bully her as they get bigger. Would introducing them while they are still young be a better option than waiting?

 

[sourland]

I'd introduce now while they are young rather when they are older. Hopefully she will establish dominance. Monitor closely.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree, I'd try now. You never know how the hen will react. She may accept the chicks and try to mother them (not likely most of the time but with her an injured hen, who knows). She may not bother them at all. She may peck and attack them, mature hens sometimes do that.

I've never been in that situation with a single hen, let alone one that was injured. What I typically see is that the chicks quickly learn to avoid the older hens but live peacefully with them. They just keep their distance since they are likely to get pecked if they invade her personal space. It helps to give them as much room as possible and try to not force them into a small tight space.

Where do you plan for the chicks to sleep? How big is that coop? Mine can share a coop at night but they do not sleep on the roosts with the adults. Again they might get pecked if they invade her personal space.

Observe what is going on in case you need to intervene but certainly try it.

 

[Nacole]

I agree, I'd try now. You never know how the hen will react. She may accept the chicks and try to mother them (not likely most of the time but with her an injured hen, who knows). She may not bother them at all. She may peck and attack them, mature hens sometimes do that.

I've never been in that situation with a single hen, let alone one that was injured. What I typically see is that the chicks quickly learn to avoid the older hens but live peacefully with them. They just keep their distance since they are likely to get pecked if they invade her personal space. It helps to give them as much room as possible and try to not force them into a small tight space.

Where do you plan for the chicks to sleep? How big is that coop? Mine can share a coop at night but they do not sleep on the roosts with the adults. Again they might get pecked if they invade her personal space.

Observe what is going on in case you need to intervene but certainly try it.

Thanks for your response! I planned for them to sleep on the ground until they can fly up to the roost. That is what they are doing now in their separate temporary coop. I may put the heating lamp in there just for a comfort level until its constantly above 60 degrees at night. The coop is about 6ft x 6ft and has a door with a timer that opens to a run that's about 15ft x 10ft. Ideally, I would like to let them free roam during the day when they are laying age. Thats what we've always done before, but the animal attacks were brutal last year.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've had chicks younger than that go through nights below freezing with no heat. I would tend to avoid a heat lamp or any heating method with 6-week-olds unless it were truly brutal weather.

 

[Nacole]

I've had chicks younger than that go through nights below freezing with no heat. I would tend to avoid a heat lamp or any heating method with 6-week-olds unless it were truly brutal weather.good to know. Thanks!!

good to know! thx!

 

[realsis]

Hi I introduced 14 7week old chicks to my 9 year old hen. She established herself as dominant hen right away and now four or five of them actually sleep with her. She was purring at them last night♡ but she eats and drinks first or they get a peck in the butt. Watch closely it all depends on the temperment of the flock.

 

[Nacole]

Thanks! I worry more about them bullying her eventually because of her lame foot so I will be watching them carefully for a while.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks! I worry more about them bullying her eventually because of her lame foot so I will be watching them carefully for a while.

Eventually that might be the case but nothing you can do about it in advance.

You'll still need to do a gradual introduction but most likely it'll be easier since she can't go after them as easily as an able bodied bird. When I was letting my current littles out for the first few times I left my elderly Buckeye hen in the half run with them as she's mostly sedentary (I locked the rest of the birds in the other half of the run), but she still managed to heave herself to her feet and slowly waddle after them. Chicks are so much faster and agile that they were easily able to stay away from her.

 

[Nacole]

thank you!