Baby chicks and hens .. when do they kick them out ?

[Tneggchic]

I have a silkie who hatched off one lone egg - it wasnt hers but she was great and hatched it and now the chick is almost 4 weeks old she will have nothing to do with it . I have another hen who just hatched out 5 about 3 days ago and the older chick stays right with this hen now ..even sleeping on her back . Is this normal ? As these are my first hen hatched still in the coop chicks.

 

[Judy]

Probably 4 to 5 or 6 weeks would be "average." But they do vary a lot. It's usually apparent from their behavior. Your hen has decided the 4 week old chick is ready to go on its own. They will ignore them, even peck them (usually lightly) to get them to move away from the mama. And your other hen has not yet decided it's time for her chick to go on its own. Sometimes they keep "mothering" chicks for many more weeks, til the chicks are practically as big as the mama. The chicks in tht situation may or may not pay much attention to what mama wants.

I once had a broody adopt some 4 week old chicks and try to mother them for another 4 weeks. They had spent their first 4 weeks in a brooder next to the broody's nest; I couldn't get her to accept them when they were day old chicks. The poor chicks couldn't figure out what the mama wanted. You just never know.....

 

[Tneggchic]

Wow .. I did not know 4 weeks could be the kick you out of the nest time!! Granted .. none of the bigger hens seem to bother her only baby so im hoping she did a good job .. I do know that the hen with the new babies doesnt seem to mind the older chick .. so maybe it will all work out ..

 

[Spangled]

I've had a broody hen that let her chicks go at 4 weeks; it was painful to watch because the chicks were not ready to let go yet and chased their momma around when they could find her. The two little ones seemed so lost without her. I would let them out in the morning and they would trek down to where she took them to forage all by themselves. I thought that was too early and didn't use her again as a broody.

I also had one broody that brooded her chicks until they were about 14 weeks. I thought that was a bit long, but the chicks didn't seem to mind the helicopter parenting. It looked really strange for that mother to have her wings spread out over such big chickens! Obviously, that is a little bit of a waste of a good broody because she could have been working on another group of chicks instead.

I think each broody is different because their hormones are different. It's prolactin that keeps them brooding chicks, I believe. So it's not like a broody can control how she acts. But I try to keep track of which broodies do best and use them again.

Interesting part ... there comes a time that chicks stop making chick peeps. I think it's around 6 weeks. To me, that makes more sense naturally as a time to "kick the chicks out of the nest" ... or at least not before then. 8-10 weeks seems to work well also.

If your newest broody is happy with the 4 week old chick hanging around, hooray. I think possibly the fact that she is still making chick peeps makes a difference ... I'm not sure, but possibly.

 

[altballard]

I've had a broody hen that let her chicks go at 4 weeks; it was painful to watch because the chicks were not ready to let go yet and chased their momma around when they could find her. The two little ones seemed so lost without her. I would let them out in the morning and they would trek down to where she took them to forage all by themselves. I thought that was too early and didn't use her again as a broody.

I also had one broody that brooded her chicks until they were about 14 weeks. I thought that was a bit long, but the chicks didn't seem to mind the helicopter parenting. It looked really strange for that mother to have her wings spread out over such big chickens! Obviously, that is a little bit of a waste of a good broody because she could have been working on another group of chicks instead.

I think each broody is different because their hormones are different. It's prolactin that keeps them brooding chicks, I believe. So it's not like a broody can control how she acts. But I try to keep track of which broodies do best and use them again.

Interesting part ... there comes a time that chicks stop making chick peeps. I think it's around 6 weeks. To me, that makes more sense naturally as a time to "kick the chicks out of the nest" ... or at least not before then. 8-10 weeks seems to work well also.

If your newest broody is happy with the 4 week old chick hanging around, hooray. I think possibly the fact that she is still making chick peeps makes a difference ... I'm not sure, but possibly.

I've got a broody with 3 chicks going on 7 weeks in a few days. She just squared this morning for me. During the day she lets the chicks be in their sub-flock but has them still sleeping in the nesting box with her that I can tell. I'll have to go out tonight to confirm this of course. If she is I'm still waiting for her to kick them out of the nest. Do you think she is waiting because of the declining temperatures?

If she is NOT in with them I'm going to have to close the nesting boxes at night so the go to the roost to sleep.

 

[janiedoe]

4 to 5 weeks is pretty normal to "ween" them. I think it's wonderful that the chick found comfort elsewhere. I have an easter egger hen who has never set and never raised babies, but she collects the older ones who are kicked out of their moms' nests. She let's them roost under her wings and calls them for food. Some of them are still her best friends years later.

 

[janiedoe]

I've also had a hen raise two chicks that were 10 days apart in age. She hatched the first and I found an egg in her nest and hatched it about 10 days later. She did great with them. Your hen will probably let the older chick hang around until she is ready to give up mothering the younger ones.