Broody to moody mama

[NikaStar]

Hi everyone, I have a first time mama hen. She just turned 1 this week! She was broody and I let her sit on 3 eggs for 21 days! Long story short, we have 3 amazing chicks! They just turned 4 weeks old.
About a week ago I noticed every other day She has been laying an egg. To my experience broody hens with chicks only start laying again after the chicks are 12 weeks and older... so to me this is a bit off. She now has been pecking 2 chicks and not letting them sleep under her. At night is about 50 degrees F. To my understanding this is still a bit chilly for them to be without mama hen. Do I still seperate her from them?
Thank you for any help.

 

[DobieLover]

To my experience broody hens with chicks only start laying again after the chicks are 12 weeks and older

Absolutely not.
The hen will wean the chicks when she thinks she's taught them everything they need to know and no longer need her for warmth. She will start laying again when her hormones settle back into that mode after being broody.
I have a regular broody hen that usually weans her chicks around 5-6 weeks old but resumes laying well before that. This year, she weaned her 2 chicks at 3 weeks old and she resumed laying right around that time.

At night is about 50 degrees F. To my understanding this is still a bit chilly for them to be without mama hen.

That is not too cold at all for 4 week olds to be on their own.

Do I still seperate her from them?

Nope. She is weaning them. It's a tough thing for a chick to go through, but if mom thinks they're ready, they're ready. They will figure out their place in the flock and will work their way to wherever they are supposed to be in the pecking order as they mature.

I've been watching my most recent chicks roaming around the flock without their mother since they were a bit over 2.5 weeks old. They are actually doing better with independence than their half brother from another mother who is 2.5 times their size and 3 weeks older than them. His mother is still coddling him and she is currently about half his size as she is a first time mother bantam hen. They all do things different.

 

[NikaStar]

Thank you for such a detailed response.
The chicks and their mama hen are currently in a seperate enclosure from the rest of the flock. We have a large rooster, so I'm not very sure he'll be nice to them. I read that I can only let the chicks out to the rest with rooster after 12 weeks. The mother hen is also not protecting them. So not sure what to do.
Plus the other chickens started pecking the mama hen when I let her iut for a walk yesterday. They were very nasty

 

[DobieLover]

We have a large rooster, so I'm not very sure he'll be nice to them.

Why wouldn't he be? Are they his kids? Even if you set eggs under her that weren't from your flock, he will think they are his. I've NEVER had a rooster go after chicks. Actually, I've never had any adult birds go after chicks. They are hatched within eyesight of the flock and are only isolated from the flock for about 3 days until the chicks are highly mobile and mom has a chance to start teaching them before she takes them into the flock.
Dad with is first brood of chicks when mom took them to roost for the first time.

Senior rooster helping to feed 1 day old chicks.

Junior bantam rooster helping to feed same batch of chicks.

Two fathers out with this hen and her first brood of chicks.

 

[NikaStar]

Yes, they are his. Ok I will try. Thank you so much!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yes, they are his. Ok I will try. Thank you so much!

You mentioned the hen and chicks were in a separate enclosure - is this part of the run or were they not next to the flock in order to start acclimating them? If the hen and chicks were housed completely separately you will need to integrate the chicks in regardless of their relation to the rest of the flock as they have not been allowed to do so.

 

[NikaStar]

You mentioned the hen and chicks were in a separate enclosure - is this part of the run or were they not next to the flock in order to start acclimating them? If the hen and chicks were housed completely separately you will need to integrate the chicks in regardless of their relation to the rest of the flock as they have not been allowed to do so.

They were in a large cage for a dog inside the coop for around 2 weeks. During the day I would let them out and lock out the other chickens in their outside run. They the last 2 weeks the chciks have been with mom in the outside part of the coop which is also covered and shielded.
So the other chickens can see and hear the chicks.

I actually gave the chicks some freedom and watched how all other chickens were with chicks. All are nice, only their mom is totally moody with them.

I observed my times during day and night, all is good!thank you everyone.

 

[Jojosine]

Very good information, but I need to keep netting over the chicks as there are cats and birds of prey where I live and I am worried that they will go for the chicks. They are now just over 3 weeks old.

When do you think it will be safe enough to remove the netting? We are thinking of letting the chicks create a flock of their own with maybe 1 or 2 mother hens too (we've got 3 broodies + their offspring in one large run).

 

[DobieLover]

Very good information, but I need to keep netting over the chicks as there are cats and birds of prey where I live and I am worried that they will go for the chicks. They are now just over 3 weeks old.

When do you think it will be safe enough to remove the netting? We are thinking of letting the chicks create a flock of their own with maybe 1 or 2 mother hens too (we've got 3 broodies + their offspring in one large run).

I do not prevent the mothers from taking their chicks out into their uncovered 1/3 acre pen. There are many places for the flock to seek shelter from aerial predators and the mother teaches them this.

The above mentioned hen that weaned her chicks at 3 weeks old had already taught her daughters that they should stay with the flock or lounge under one of the shrub arrangements. They are very good about that.

My flock has been struck too many times to count by red tailed hawks that fly over my property multiple times a day. I've only lost a single bird, a 10 week old pullet, to a hawk. No other flock member has even been injured by one.

A hawk struck when the 2 newest pullets were 5 weeks old. My neighbor texted me to tell me her husband saw a hawk on the ground in the pen and they worried about the chicks. The hawk was being attacked by my senior rooster, Fabio, seen above. He is always on alert for predators and sounds warning and alarms whenever he sees something. I'm a little irked I missed seeing this!

If you have a rooster/watchful head hen and a decent sized flock, the chicks should be as safe as any other flock member from cats and aerial predators. The cats should have learned long ago not to mess with a flock of chickens.