Baby Chicks in the coop with adult chickens????

[lilchik]

I have been reading others posts and am getting nervous! I have never hatched chicks under a hen before, I have only had chickens for 2 yrs. now. I have hatched eggs in the incubator and kept the babies in a brooder til they were big enough to put in the coop. This year my hens went broody, so I left them set. My first hen has chicks that started hatching yesterday. I thought that they would be fine in the coop with the chickens since they were hatched there. According to what I have been reading, most people seperate the hen and chicks. I was not prepared for that. I have 7 hens setting and no where to put all the babies! OMG. What am I going to do?

 

[RAWR]

oh snap! O.O
well if push comes to shove you could always but the chicks in a brooder...

other then that, i really dont know

 

[Domestic_goddess]

Make a brooder, that's your best option!

 

[RAWR]

Quote:
thats wat i was thinking, but some people like to have then hen raise the chicks >.>
if your that kind of person, fence off part of the run/yard and but the broodys in there

 

[Moxiechick]

You could build an addition to your coop. A nursery wing, so to speak!

 

[RAWR]

Quote:
O.O thats so perfect..
imma do that with my silkies... xD

 

[Bat Cave Silkies]

My hens that hatch & raise their own chicks have no problem keeping ALL other chickens away from their babies. Of course, I have Silkies, and they like to "group raise" their chicks

I'd observe what happens the first time your hen takes her new chicks out of the nest, and if they do alright--no problem. If theres aggressiveness towards the chicks from other chickens, that the mom can't handle---MOVE THEM.
Good luck

 

[SPRING CREEK FARM]

We have a split coop, each having its' own run-- one of which is the nursery coop, which I plan to be using in about another month for my baby campine chicks that I got from the hatchery. I have 4 little silkie hens setting right now, but when they hatch out their babies, I just let them remain with the other chickens. I have never had any trouble with that arrangement and the mama hens can take better care of the chicks than I could by brooding them myself.

I much prefer to let them remain amongst their "family" than to segregate them only to have to "reintroduce" them later on.

 

[Repleon]

My first group of chicks hatched under my hen and we allowed her to raise them. However, the group that is hatching now, yesterday, doesnt seem to get along with the first group so we have placed them in a brooder. BTW, my hens are silkies. I have 3 hatches in a brooder and 5 raised by their mother with the flock. I love that idea of a nursery wing. I think I am gonna try something like that next time around

 

[RAWR]

Quote:
thats good for me to know :3
im getting silkies here soon...i think today. idk if my mom was pulling my leg about them not coming till next tuesday...
im going to breed mine too