After the hatching questions

[emmalemons]

so I did have chicks last year however it had been my first time and had not thought of winter coming up. Therefore my chicks had never had time to learn to”flock” when I let my chickens free range during the day. The two hens have finally caught on now but still have trouble staying with the group because the chicken that raised them never had the chance to teach them this. Since now I’m doing it in the summer, I was wondering at what day after the hatching, you guys suggested I reentered my chicks into the group this time. The way I usually do it is I let the broody hen sit on the back eggs in the coop whee everyone lays and let her have her chickens there. Then after the chicks hatch and they gain some fluff, I move them and the mamma to a new location next to the coop (so they can still see the flock of course). I don’t know when I should let the broody hen and chicks hang out with the other 7 hens and rooster. Can you answer my question please? Thanks!

 

[LilJoe]

I usually let my broodies with the flock when the chicks are about a week old.
Unsure what others might do though..

 

[emmalemons]

I usually let my broodies with the flock when the chicks are about a week old.
Unsure what others might do though..

Thank you! Tbh I was thinking abt a week too but I thought taking ppl’s suggestions would help too
Ps I like the verse that you put on the bottom

 

[IamRainey]

I'm still working this out like you. I plan to put my newest chicks out this weekend at 4wo. I will take their whole kennel and put it in the run. I will replace the door that's essentially one side of the kennel with some hardware cloth that has a smaller door cut into it. This door will be large enough for the chicks to take refuge if they need to and too small for a hen to get more than a head and neck inside. And, of course, the kennel is large enough for the chicks to stay well out of the way of a hostile hen and large enough for their own feed and water.

Last Spring I had purchased chicks. I mounted the kennel up in the roosts in the coop but I don't think there's enough room this time for all the hens and the kennel.

Last year one of my hens ran the chicks around mercilessly. I isolated her in a pen inside the run. And I also tried those blinders that pinch into a nostril on her beak. In the end, it just took time and they worked it out themselves. I'm depending on that happening again.

It will take longer for the new chicks to find their spot on the roosts in the coop if they're raised in the run. But my run is fully secure so I'm confident they'll be OK there and work it out over time. Time and their natural instincts, I'm discovering, is the remedy to just about everything...