Lost chicks

[Cistan]

So our hens hatched 8 chicks. They are about 3 weeks old and the oldest maybe 4. I realized that one of the younger babies “got lost” - he’s no where to be found, and then today husband said one of the older ones is missing. I feel compelled to keep them in the coop. They are all free rangers but i don’t want them to be airlifted out of here by hawxks - there’s plenty of coverage trees etc but i don’t know what’s happening or what is getting thm! What is the best way to safeguard them? I’ve raised baby chicks without a hen ( i keep them in the coop until they are about 4 months old) but is it my hens not being good mothers and what should i do!??

 

[nuthatched]

Make a small, covered area that mother and chicks with be safe. A momma hen will fight for her babes but she's no match for most predators and babies do wander.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

My last batch of hen-raised chicks kept wandering out of the run cause its chain link. Mama didn't care apparently. Just went to bed with the smart chick and left the other two out. So every night I would have to put them up (meanwhile I kept trying to fix it so they couldn't get out) but one night I went out and couldn't find one. The next morning very early I went out and called "here chick chick" and heard her panicked peeping. From the neighbors' back yard. She had gone over there because they had a brooder set up on their back porch with chicks in it!
I don't know if this long story helps. Its all to say I don't know how good mama hens are at keeping the little ones rounded up.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Mama's don't have the ability to go looking for lost babies. They have to take care of the ones smart enough to stay close.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They are all free rangers but i don’t want them to be airlifted out of here by hawks - there’s plenty of coverage trees etc but i don’t know what’s happening or what is getting thm!

When you free range you have the risk of predators. It doesn't matter if they are young chicks or adult chickens, there is always the risk of predators. Young chicks are more vulnerable to certain predators, snakes and small birds of prey for example, but the adults are also vulnerable to predators.

There is nothing to indicate that your broody hens are bad mothers or doing anything wrong. Predators stay alive by catching and eating prey. They are really good at it, their lives depend on it. Chickens are prey animals, that's why they can hatch so many chicks in a season if they follow the old feral routine of hatching several broods a year, many are going to be eaten. Lots of critters eat chicken.

What is the best way to safeguard them?

It would help to know what is getting them but don't let them free range. Keep them behind barriers that the predator can't get through. If you knew what the predator was (could be different ones) you could maybe trap or hunt it to remove that one but that is only a temporary solution. There will be others. That's assuming you get the right critter to start with. Barriers are your best protection against predators.

The older and bigger they get the less vulnerable they are to certain predators. You increase their odds of survival if you keep them contained until they are older. It doesn't guarantee a predator won't get them anyway but it reduces the number of predators that might if they are too big for some of them.

Many of us can free range their chickens, including broody hens with chicks, without problems. Others cannot. But they are always going to be at risk. I used to free range mine without problems and then people abandoned dogs in the country. After two attacks from different dogs and the loss of 13 chickens total I put them behind electric netting to protect them.

 

[Cistan]

When you free range you have the risk of predators. It doesn't matter if they are young chicks or adult chickens, there is always the risk of predators. Young chicks are more vulnerable to certain predators, snakes and small birds of prey for example, but the adults are also vulnerable to predators.

There is nothing to indicate that your broody hens are bad mothers or doing anything wrong. Predators stay alive by catching and eating prey. They are really good at it, their lives depend on it. Chickens are prey animals, that's why they can hatch so many chicks in a season if they follow the old feral routine of hatching several broods a year, many are going to be eaten. Lots of critters eat chicken.


It would help to know what is getting them but don't let them free range. Keep them behind barriers that the predator can't get through. If you knew what the predator was (could be different ones) you could maybe trap or hunt it to remove that one but that is only a temporary solution. There will be others. That's assuming you get the right critter to start with. Barriers are your best protection against predators.

The older and bigger they get the less vulnerable they are to certain predators. You increase their odds of survival if you keep them contained until they are older. It doesn't guarantee a predator won't get them anyway but it reduces the number of predators that might if they are too big for some of them.

Many of us can free range their chickens, including broody hens with chicks, without problems. Others cannot. But they are always going to be at risk. I used to free range mine without problems and then people abandoned dogs in the country. After two attacks from different dogs and the loss of 13 chickens total I put them behind electric netting to protect them.

Thanks that’s very helpful , we’ll probably end up building a outside run at some point. We had another attempt yesterday on the last older chick. Pretty scary and he almost got away with him. Some of the females and one of our Roos helped out and fought it off. I’m sure it’s the same one that got the two babies too.

 

[McChooky]

When they're old enough to fend for themselves you can add them to the flock otherwise predators will pick them off one by one.Most people find grow out pen work best.

 

[raingarden]

If a chick is sick and can't keep up the hen will just walk away from it with the strong ones in tow.

 

[everyday_farmlife]

I now always take all of my chicks, bar 2 off the mother hen as soon as they have fluffed up. I've never had good success with hens raising chicks (maybe my hens are just lousy mothers? My last hen, before I started taking them squashed 11 out of 13 of her chicks over 4 days ‍

 

[SourRoses]

I have some trouble understanding the thought process behind free ranging little chicks. They're just tiny little morsels. And it's so sad when they die.