1 Month Old Chicks - Mother Hen Killed

[Goma]

We have 3 chicks about a month old. Not too sure about the sex of the chicks yet. The mother hen was just killed today by a Raccoon, that managed to climb the chicken wire and bend the top of the fencing and get in.

Just wondering if anyone has any tips on raising the chicks and about what age would they be ok to be outside on their own. We have them in a cardboard box right now. Winter is coming.

 

[Arya28]

We have 3 chicks about a month old. Not too sure about the sex of the chicks yet. The mother hen was just killed today by a Raccoon, that managed to climb the chicken wire and bend the top of the fencing and get in.

Just wondering if anyone has any tips on raising the chicks and about what age would they be ok to be outside on their own. We have them in a cardboard box right now. Winter is coming.

Hi and !

Winter is coming

I'm sorry about your hen.

Generally around 6 weeks old is when you can let them be outside. But of course this depends on the weather, and how warm their coop will be. So when they are born their brooder should be approx 95 degrees, decreasing by 5 degrees every week. If they are about a month old, that's about 4 weeks. This means they should have decreased 20 degrees. So they should be at about 75 degrees now, decreasing by 5 degrees until they are six weeks old and can be acclimated to the temps outside. Usually this occurs in the spring, so this is an odd time of year for that. It can be done, but they may have to be kept in for an extra week or two.

Definitely I would say keep them in for at least 2 more weeks. Make sure they have a warm coop to go into at night if you let them out then, since winter is coming.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Where are you? What kind of temperatures and weather are you seeing now and what is expected in your ten day forecast? Do you have other adult chickens?

It sounds like yours have been raised outside by a broody hen. By a month old they have been acclimatized, used to the weather. I’ve had broody hens wean their chicks at three weeks, totally leave them alone to make their own way with the flock. But that was in pretty warm weather. I’ve had chicks 5-1/2 weeks old go through temperatures in the mid 20’s Fahrenheit with no broody hen or supplemental heat. They were in a coop with great breeze protection down low where they were but with a lot of ventilation up high. Breeze protection, good ventilation, and being acclimatized are all important.

I let my broody hens raise their chicks with the flock right from the start, I don’t isolate them at all. Even when they wean them as young as three weeks the broody has already taken care of basic integration. The chicks still have to manage the pecking order issues themselves but with a lot of room they do OK with that. Raising them with the flock and having a lot of room are important to my integration methods.

Can your chicks make it on their own without supplemental heat? That will depend on how cold it gets and the breeze protection and ventilation your coop offers.

Good luck with the chicks and with that predator problem. And welcome to the forum!

 

[HeyHeyWW]

The same thing happened to my chicks! My grandpa had a hen with 3 chicks and the mother died, so he gave us the 3 chicks, they weren't even a month old. What we did was we would let them be outside (only when I was out, because I didn't want them to escape through any tiny hole), and when it was night time we put them in a cage and took them inside our house. We also put them under a blanket so that they could be warm.

But I don't know if you want to make them grow differently because I wanted to have them follow me everywhere (and they are), but if you have other chickens, you can let them raise the chicks. But whatever you want, let them grow with the chickens or you take care of them.

My chicks are like 4 months now, if there weren't any falcons flying around (which there always are) I would let them roam free, but for now we put them in this big cage that lets them dig in the dirt. I'd let them roam free when they are adults, because I wouldn't want to risk a falcon or eagle eating them.

In the winter, if it is too cold then you'd probably want them to be inside if there isn't a chicken warming them. Also, if you're gonna be the one taking care of them, you should always take them inside whenever you see that the sun is setting.

Oh, and, be careful, because the racoon will be back. A racoon ate one of the chicks one night, it came back the next night because some things were out of place. So make sure that at night wherever you chickens are sleeping, that the door should be really closed shut and not have any places that the racoon could get through.

 

[chickens really]

If outside in Coop they are fine...Were they raise amongst the flock?....Keep them in their usual set up....They are tougher than you think....
Sorry for your loss.....

 

[lazy gardener]

First, IMO, you need to get that coon trapped or otherwise eliminated.

Your chicks should be fine in the coop with the rest of the flock. You might want to give them a huddle box or a wool hen, but I agree with RR that those chicks are most likely already acclimated to your weather.

What can you do to prevent that coon from accessing your birds again? Keeping the flock shut up tight in a secure coop every night is a good beginning. But, I've found that once coons find the buffet, they can come to dine in broad day light. So, your run will not be a deterrent to a determined coon. They're brazen, nasty creatures. Are you in a no shoot zone? Your control measures will depend greatly on what you have available to manage predation.

 

[Cyneswith]

My chicks outgrew their brooder at not-quite-4 weeks, so I put them in the coop and ran the brooder plate out there. Birds did not go under the brooder plate. Started sleeping on the roost day 1.

But again, depends where you live. (That was the response to so many questions, I put my town in my profile.)