Hi, I have 9 hens, 1 rooster, they are just over a year old. I ordered some Easter eggers & buff Orpingtons from a hatchery. One of my year old buff Orpingtons has been broody for over a month, so I gave her the chicks this past Tuesday. She has adopted them and is a good mama. I have them in my coop inside a very large dog kennel. Chicks will be 1week & 2 days old on Today. I am looking for advice on the the best age to let the chicks out into the coop with the mama and allow them to free range and assimilate into the flock. I’ve read after the 1st week, to waiting for several weeks. I can’t imagine leaving them cooped up together in a dog kennel for weeks. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!
Adopted baby chicks - help please
- Thread starter My4boys
- Start date
Honestly, I let mama decide. I had one broody take hers out at day 3. My current batch still haven't left the run, and they are almost 1 month old.
Can you section off an area for them? That's what I'm trying with this current group. The mamas (I have 2 hens co-parenting a batch of 3) don't seem inclined to partake yet, and that's fine with me. Or maybe open the kennel and see what mama does? She will protect those babies!
- Thread starter
- #7
Thank you! I am so thankful for the wisdom! So mama is part of my very first group of chickens, their are 9 hens, 3 buff Orpingtons, 3 golden comets and 2 barred rock. We recently (about 2 months ago)adopted a rooster, a french wheaten maran. They were all a year old in March. One of the Orpingtons has been Broody for over a month, so I decided to try and see if she would adopt the new babies, which are 3 buff Orpington chicks, 8 Easter eggers. She did great! So this is my first experience having mama raise the babies and she is doing a way better job then I could ever imagine! What kind of chickens do you have? I just joined back yard chickens, so I hope I am doing this posting thing right!
Hi, welcome to the forum from Louisiana. Glad you joined.
My flock typically consists of an adult rooster, adult hens, and often juveniles of different ages. Some juveniles are brooder raised, some broody raised. I have an 8' x 12' ground level main coop, two 4' x 8' shelters where they can sleep, and over 3,000 square feet in the run. I let my broody hens hatch and raise the chicks with the flock.
I let my broody hens decide when to bring her chicks off of the nest. I have food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it plus I have food and water outside. Most of that 3,000 square feet is grass. Each brood is different in some way but I'll run through what might be typical.
After the broody brings them off of the nest, they might stay two days and nights in the coop before she brings them outside. About the third day she takes them outside. At dark she brings them back in the coop where they spend the night sleeping on the coop floor. After that she takes them out every day and they spend practically all day foraging and playing in the grass. They do eat the chicken feed, it's not just foraging, but they spend a lot of time outside. At night they return to the coop to sleep.
At some point the broody will wean her chicks, leave them on their own to make their way with the flock. I've had broody hens wean their chicks at 3 weeks of age, some don't wean them until more than two months. The hen has taught the others to leave her babies alone and the babies have learned how to get along. They typically form a sub-flock and avoid the main flock day and night until they mature enough to force their way into the pecking order. Then they merge into one flock.
I don't know how much room you have. I think that has a lot to do with how well this process works. If room is tight then this process can be more challenging. As I said, different things work for different people. I trust my broody hens and interfere with them as little as I can.
Good luck however you decide and once again,
The reason you read so many different things is that we do so many different things. We have different set-ups with different sizes and shapes of coops, different runs or free range, urban or rural, different flocks and flock make-ups, different experiences, the differences go on and on. Something that works for one person may not work for another person. Sometime someone reads something and thinks that they have to do it that way when they really don't. There is a ton of information on this but one of your challenges is trying to figure out if it actually applies to your situation. That's not always easy.
My flock typically consists of an adult rooster, adult hens, and often juveniles of different ages. Some juveniles are brooder raised, some broody raised. I have an 8' x 12' ground level main coop, two 4' x 8' shelters where they can sleep, and over 3,000 square feet in the run. I let my broody hens hatch and raise the chicks with the flock.
I let my broody hens decide when to bring her chicks off of the nest. I have food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it plus I have food and water outside. Most of that 3,000 square feet is grass. Each brood is different in some way but I'll run through what might be typical.
After the broody brings them off of the nest, they might stay two days and nights in the coop before she brings them outside. About the third day she takes them outside. At dark she brings them back in the coop where they spend the night sleeping on the coop floor. After that she takes them out every day and they spend practically all day foraging and playing in the grass. They do eat the chicken feed, it's not just foraging, but they spend a lot of time outside. At night they return to the coop to sleep.
At some point the broody will wean her chicks, leave them on their own to make their way with the flock. I've had broody hens wean their chicks at 3 weeks of age, some don't wean them until more than two months. The hen has taught the others to leave her babies alone and the babies have learned how to get along. They typically form a sub-flock and avoid the main flock day and night until they mature enough to force their way into the pecking order. Then they merge into one flock.
I don't know how much room you have. I think that has a lot to do with how well this process works. If room is tight then this process can be more challenging. As I said, different things work for different people. I trust my broody hens and interfere with them as little as I can.
Good luck however you decide and once again,
- Thread starter
- #3
The last two days I’ve opened the kennel door, mama seems to want to come out, but doesn’t want to leave the babies. The first time she came out, she kept rushing back to check on them. The second time She came out, I gave her a little scratch and then the babies started to follow her. So maybe just let her out and let her lead the babies? And just put into the coop or let them go outside if they want? I am assuming she will help the chicks assimilate into the flock
You are posting multiple times, but you're getting the hang of it. Took me a bit to get it right. You can reply to a comment, and it will automatically quote the comment you are responding to. You can also quote a post and insert it into your reply, but you don't really need to do either, honestly, just to post. You can insert a pic from your files. Video is trickier because you have to upload to a video hosting site, like YouTube or Vimeo, and then insert the link to your video. There's a whole forum with info about posting. It has helped me several times!
All that aside, BYC is the BEST! I have learned so much here. So so much.
All that aside, BYC is the BEST! I have learned so much here. So so much.
- Thread starter
- #11
This is great information, thank you! My coop is the same size as yours, and my green space is very large as well. It’s nice to know how you’ve handle your hens. It sounds like I need to trust mama and she will take care of it all!Hi, welcome to the forum from Louisiana. Glad you joined.
The reason you read so many different things is that we do so many different things. We have different set-ups with different sizes and shapes of coops, different runs or free range, urban or rural, different flocks and flock make-ups, different experiences, the differences go on and on. Something that works for one person may not work for another person. Sometime someone reads something and thinks that they have to do it that way when they really don't. There is a ton of information on this but one of your challenges is trying to figure out if it actually applies to your situation. That's not always easy.
My flock typically consists of an adult rooster, adult hens, and often juveniles of different ages. Some juveniles are brooder raised, some broody raised. I have an 8' x 12' ground level main coop, two 4' x 8' shelters where they can sleep, and over 3,000 square feet in the run. I let my broody hens hatch and raise the chicks with the flock.
I let my broody hens decide when to bring her chicks off of the nest. I have food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it plus I have food and water outside. Most of that 3,000 square feet is grass. Each brood is different in some way but I'll run through what might be typical.
After the broody brings them off of the nest, they might stay two days and nights in the coop before she brings them outside. About the third day she takes them outside. At dark she brings them back in the coop where they spend the night sleeping on the coop floor. After that she takes them out every day and they spend practically all day foraging and playing in the grass. They do eat the chicken feed, it's not just foraging, but they spend a lot of time outside. At night they return to the coop to sleep.
At some point the broody will wean her chicks, leave them on their own to make their way with the flock. I've had broody hens wean their chicks at 3 weeks of age, some don't wean them until more than two months. The hen has taught the others to leave her babies alone and the babies have learned how to get along. They typically form a sub-flock and avoid the main flock day and night until they mature enough to force their way into the pecking order. Then they merge into one flock.
I don't know how much room you have. I think that has a lot to do with how well this process works. If room is tight then this process can be more challenging. As I said, different things work for different people. I trust my broody hens and interfere with them as little as I can.
Good luck however you decide and once again,
That's the BEST thing about broodies - they do all the work! Haha! She'll get those babies out if she wants them out. And she will absolutely assimilate them for you. So much less drama that way!
I don't know your flock, so you do whatever you think is best. But if they were mine, I'd just open that kennel wherever it happens to be and let mama do her thing. It sounds like she's a very good mama, so she won't let anything happen.
How many babies? What breeds??? I love adopted babies. It's the primary way I add chicks so I can (mostly) control my cockerel population.
Welcome to BYC!
Yes, but SKIP the scratch!
Congrats on your successful adoption, Pics or it didn't happen!
- Thread starter
- #8
I will get a better picture today with the babies, I only have videos!Welcome to BYC!
Yes, but SKIP the scratch!
Congrats on your successful adoption, Pics or it didn't happen!
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