When do I let mommy and her chicks loose in the flock?

[MarkButcher]

I segregated mommy and her clutch before they hatched, in part of the chicken coop, and that's worked out well, and i had a successful hatch of 10 of 11 eggs, and now going onto 3 weeks with the hen and chicks still segragated, I'm wondering when I can successfully release her and her brood into the flock. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Could the flock still see her while she was seperated?

 

[MarkButcher]

Could the flock still see her while she was seperated?

Yeppers, and the chicks too, so they've both been exposed to each other since day one. I had a little space under the bottom wire seperating them, and sure enough a couple chicks squeezed through several times, and the hens who were in the hen house didn't react to the chicks who were scurrying around, much at all, it didn't seem.

Could the flock still see her while she was seperated?

 

[MarkButcher]

Yee, right there on floor level, same as them, with just some netting and chicken wire seperating her and the chicks, from them

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I'd wait until the chicks are a week or two and then let them mingle

 

[HawaiiCoyote]

I let mine start mingling with the flock around four weeks old

 

[HawaiiCoyote]

Just make sure that mama hen is doing her job, protecting the babies from the rest of the flock ~ and all should be well!

 

[Yardmom]

Sometimes the mom will scuffle when reentring the flock, but most of the time the other birds ignore the chicks. I let mine out at a few days old. I currently have two, two week olds who are often alone in the flock. The only one who bothers them is the cluck(not their mom) They are great at avoiding her. In case you are wondering. The heat source for the chicks is a duck whose eggs didn't hatch. She lets the chicks under her, but does not make sure they follow her.

 

[Ridgerunner]

a couple chicks squeezed through several times, and the hens who were in the hen house didn't react to the chicks who were scurrying around, much at all, it didn't seem.

Does this kind of tell you something?

I've seen this behavior before too. Any time a chick is where Mama cannot protect it but other flock members can get to it that chick is in some danger. Most of the time the other flock members leave a chick alone but occasionally there are real threats. To me this is one of the dangers of isolating a hen and her chicks. The hen can't get out to protect her baby but the chicks can put themselves in danger.

I let my broody hens raise their chicks with the flock from Day 1. As soon as she brings them off of the nest they are with the flock. I've never had a broody hen fail to protect her chicks from other flock members when necessary. Usually it is not necessary at all but there are occasions Mama does take charge of the situation. None of my hens want to face a mad Mama hen. My roosters either ignore the chicks or help Mama take care of them. They are his babies after all as far as he is concerned, even of he is not their real father.

My broody hens take care of integration for me. They teach the others to leave her babies alone. I want her to have as much time as I can give her to teach that lesson. I've had a broody hen wean her chicks as young as three weeks of age. Those chicks did fine on their own with the flock. If I wait until after she weans them then I have to integrate them myself. I prefer to avoid that.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I normally wait a couple weeks to let the momma and chicks mingle.