Broody momma hatched chicks, do I separate them?

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Ridgerunner said:
I appreciate your concern. It's hard to know what to do and you really don't want anything bad to happen to those chicks. Unfortunately no matter what you do there is an element of risk. It's that way with any living animals, not just baby chicks.

Personally I let my broody hens hatch with the flock and raise the chicks with the flock. I'm glad to have a dominant rooster with the flock. I've never had a dominant rooster threaten the chicks. Usually he ignores them but I have had a few dominant roosters help Mama out when she needed it. The other hens are usually not a problem but occasionally Mama whips butt. Usually when it comes to that Mama is so scary the others just run away, no real fighting. A protective broody hen can be scary.

What I do is put down a piece of plywood or cardboard on top of the shavings and put food and water on that. The chickens do a lot of scratching, both the broody and chicks and the other chickens, so the food and especially water can have a lot of bedding scratched in them, the plywood makes it easier to keep it clean. The other chickens can be a pain in the butt. When I put food out for the chicks the adults think it is a special treat and wipe it out, even if it is the same feed they are getting. I just keep filling it up until they give up.

I let my broody hens decide when to bring her chicks off of the nest. Typically mine keep their chicks in the coop for a couple of days before taking them outside. Once she starts taking them outside they go out early every day and she brings them back in late. My nests are higher than yours so my broody hens take the chicks to sleep on the coop floor. With your nest on the floor like that she may take them back inside so when she brings them off you might want to clean that nest.

An option is to build something around that nest to keep her and the chicks in and the other chickens out. It will need a top as well as walls and be big enough for food and water. For the first few days it doesn't have to be huge, but the chicks will grow fast. Or you can build a pen somewhere else. It needs be predator proof and keep the rain out. No matter how you do this, make sure you are down there at bedtime to make sure everything is OK. If a chick is somehow separated from Mama it will be peeping, you'll know.

Some warnings. Baby chicks sometimes like to crawl up under Mama's feathers, especially under wings but they can go other places. I killed a chick once when I picked the broody hen up. A chick had crawled up under a wing and I crushed it. I still pick a broody hen up if I need to but I don't do that without a reason and I'm careful when I do.
If you do try to isolate the hen and chicks be very careful that the chicks can't get somewhere Mama cannot protect them. Those chicks are pretty small and active. Make sure any fence you use has holes so small they can't get through. Don't leave any gaps at gates or corners they can get through. It's easy to leave gaps under your fence too. I had this issue before when a chick got through a gate into a pen of 8 week olds where Mama could not protect it. They killed it. I was pretty upset a week of so ago when another forum member said a chick she had isolated with its Mama got out through a hole and the other hens killed it. If Mama could have gotten out the chick would have been fine. This is part of what I mean when I say no matter what you do something can happen.

Don't let me scare you. It's a great adventure and the majority of the time it works really well. Good luck and congratulations on those two chicks. Here's hoping for several more.
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This was amazing advice!! I so appreciate it! For now I put her hutch on a piece of plywood and wrapped chicken wire around the area so they have the little corner of the coop. I just picked up the whole hutch box to not disturb momma too much, even though once I got her settled I did push her side to find FOUR CHICKS instead of two! They have a little waterer in there and a little chick feeder with some All-Flock. I think when they get a little bigger I’ll just take the fencing away and go from there! I’ll take pictures tonight or tomorrow and you all can let me know what you think or if you have suggestions!!! Thanks again, I really do appreciate the advice!
 
Ridgerunner said:
I've seen a broody hen get her chicks out of a 10' high hay loft. She flew to the ground, said "jump", and they did, then bounced up and ran to her. Mine often hatch in a nest about 4' above the coop floor, the hen gets them down. I don't know what that area looks like but I would not move her just because of the height.
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I’m already thinking about them getting out of the coop. We don’t have a ramp because it’s less than a foot from the pop door to the ground. Can chicks jump that high? They aren’t able to leave the coop right now, I fenced them in.
 
RevlisRemmah said:
I’m already thinking about them getting out of the coop. We don’t have a ramp because it’s less than a foot from the pop door to the ground. Can chicks jump that high? They aren’t able to leave the coop right now, I fenced them in.
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Do you have a run?
I'd just set a concrete block by the pop door for now, give them a 'step up'....
....or make a quick ramp.
 
aart said:
Do you have a run?
I'd just set a concrete block by the pop door for now, give them a 'step up'....
....or make a quick ramp.
Click to expand...
That’s a really good idea!
Here’s an idea of the set up, coop with run off
the back and side.
C87F8F38-5748-4015-9D21-9FF810F2CFF1.jpeg
It’s maybe 50feet by 20feet.
0A6E6565-DBDD-4B2C-8D66-D355B49AA160.jpeg

And the back pop door height.
69E51CB3-C362-4FAC-8B63-847F475611DE.jpeg
 

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