2 week old chick won't nest with siblings in coop

[lv9777]

I put five eggs under my broody hen. Three hatched without difficulty and one needed assisting after 24 hours (one did not hatch). I was sure the assisted chick would die and my daughter took it for a few days to she if she could help. It is smaller than the other chicks but doing well. At one week, we did supervised visitation for a few days till Mom decided that she would accept him back. He is much smaller than the others, but keeping up well and everything is fine until evening. He refuses to follow mom into the coop and he waits outside and screams till I come back for him. I took him in the first few nights because he was not as used to the chill as the others and is not feathered out at all. But now that is his preferred routine.
How do I get him to go in? I have placed him in several times with mom, but he runs out screaming. I will lock him in if needed, but if he is not under mom my other adult hen may not be very nice (she is top bird, actually top animal at my house). He has a stuffed animal that he sleeps with that I can put in with him which I will try next. Any suggestions?
(This feels like sleep training with my human children)

 

[MROO]

He's definitely imprinted on people! Babies that young need heat. If he won't snuggle under Mama and the other hen is a danger to him, then he needs to come out at night. Either that, or provide a heat source inside the coop, but safely away from the other adults - like a creep feeder used for foals and calves, but with heat.
If you do keep him apart, once the hen weans the other babies, you can put all of them together in a cage/kennel within the run. Once they bond (probably within a c ouple of days) they can go back in with the Big Girls. They'll be their own l;ittle sub-flock and should integrate just fine.

 

[Iluveggers]

You could also go in the coop at night until he settles (not sure how big it is & if you’d fit inside). So you are there & he gets “trained” to sleep inside.

 

[lv9777]

Thank you. Will it be a problem that he has imprinted on people rather than mom in the long run? He will warm up under mom with the siblings during the day just not at night. I have let mom and chicks stay with my other adult hen in the morning and evening and only separate them when I am at work (just in case). Everyone seems to get along ok as long they defer to my Barred Rock Boss Hen.
For now, I will keep letting him spend days with Mom and siblings and nights back inside with me. Appreciate the advice. This forum is a HUGE help!

 

[MROO]

Thank you. Will it be a problem that he has imprinted on people rather than mom in the long run? He will warm up under mom with the siblings during the day just not at night. I have let mom and chicks stay with my other adult hen in the morning and evening and only separate them when I am at work (just in case). Everyone seems to get along ok as long they defer to my Barred Rock Boss Hen.
For now, I will keep letting him spend days with Mom and siblings and nights back inside with me. Appreciate the advice. This forum is a HUGE help!

People imprinting is not necessarily a bad thing. My last incubator hatch was a single chick (out of three eggs.) People are her preferred company, so whenever we're out in the coop, she's right there at our feet or on our shoulders. She's super sweet and a lot of fun. As an "only," naming her was easy. She's Hen Solo!

 

[lv9777]

Thank you that makes me feel better. Luv her name!

You could also go in the coop at night until he settles (not sure how big it is & if you’d fit inside). So you are there & he gets “trained” to sleep inside.

I do sit in the run, but the coop is to small. I sat just outside tonight when Mom took everyone inside and I kept placing him back in. He was not complaint. I tried just staying there for a while, but he just crawled into my lap and fell asleep. I guess we just keep keep doing the day times for now.

 

[lv9777]

People imprinting is not necessarily a bad thing. My last incubator hatch was a single chick (out of three eggs.) People are her preferred company, so whenever we're out in the coop, she's right there at our feet or on our shoulders. She's super sweet and a lot of fun. As an "only," naming her was easy. She's Hen Solo!

Luv the name! I feel much better about it all now. Thank you.

 

[lv9777]

People imprinting is not necessarily a bad thing. My last incubator hatch was a single chick (out of three eggs.) People are her preferred company, so whenever we're out in the coop, she's right there at our feet or on our shoulders. She's super sweet and a lot of fun. As an "only," naming her was easy. She's Hen Solo!

We have done 4 days of spending all day with the other chicks and coming inside at night. When I went out to get him tonight, he was tucked in with Mom in the coop!!!