Can younger chicks be integrated into area with only Momma and slightly older chicks?

stormgirl82

Songster
Mar 2, 2020
89
235
111
Arkansas, USA
Okay.. So Jan 4th, my momma hen hatched 2 babies, and on the 6th hatched one more. She had eggs under her that were further behind so we brought them inside. (It was our first broody hen and we made some mistakes, please don't hate on me.. Lol) The momma hen and her 3 babies were moved to their own area inside our coop and have their own little run as well. We incubated the remaining eggs and had 1 hatch on Jan 14 and one on Jan 18. The one that hatched on the 14th we thought would be alone for longer (we didn't accurately guess hatching dates..) so we brought the smallest of the 3 momma had inside with her. So now I have 3 chicks inside that are within a week or so of each other. We have one more egg that I expect to hatch around the 28th if it makes it..

I'm working out plans for when I can integrate them into the little flock with momma and her babies outside. And how to go about it. Will I be able to add these 3 or 4 into the same area as momma and the 2 babies later on? I don't mean very soon, but possibly in a few weeks as they all get more feathered and it gets warmer? How can I go about this? Eventually, the goal will be to keep the babies that turn out to be hens and I have some homes in line for any that end up being roosters. And the end goal is to have everybody (including the rest of my flock) living together as well. I just remember how hard it was adding my new chicks to the established flock last year and want this to go smoother.

I hope this makes sense! It's been somewhat of a mess, but I couldn't leave the eggs that were further behind in development to die. :( We never planned for chicks, but here we are and we love them. :)
 
One way I’ve found that helps integration go a lot smoother is to brood chicks inside the coop. I have a brooder in my coop where one side is chicken wire so everyone can see and hear each other, but not touch. That way they’re all kind of used to being around each other by the time they meet face to face.
 
Okay.. So Jan 4th, my momma hen hatched 2 babies, and on the 6th hatched one more. She had eggs under her that were further behind so we brought them inside. (It was our first broody hen and we made some mistakes, please don't hate on me.. Lol) The momma hen and her 3 babies were moved to their own area inside our coop and have their own little run as well. We incubated the remaining eggs and had 1 hatch on Jan 14 and one on Jan 18. The one that hatched on the 14th we thought would be alone for longer (we didn't accurately guess hatching dates..) so we brought the smallest of the 3 momma had inside with her. So now I have 3 chicks inside that are within a week or so of each other. We have one more egg that I expect to hatch around the 28th if it makes it..

I'm working out plans for when I can integrate them into the little flock with momma and her babies outside. And how to go about it. Will I be able to add these 3 or 4 into the same area as momma and the 2 babies later on? I don't mean very soon, but possibly in a few weeks as they all get more feathered and it gets warmer? How can I go about this? Eventually, the goal will be to keep the babies that turn out to be hens and I have some homes in line for any that end up being roosters. And the end goal is to have everybody (including the rest of my flock) living together as well. I just remember how hard it was adding my new chicks to the established flock last year and want this to go smoother.

I hope this makes sense! It's been somewhat of a mess, but I couldn't leave the eggs that were further behind in development to die. :( We never planned for chicks, but here we are and we love them. :)
I wouldn't add them....momma hens can be very aggressive to chicks that didn't hatch under her, even to the point of killing the chicks. I think it would be best to sell the ones that aren't with the momma now. I wish you the best of luck. :hugs
 
I agree with lifein - Mama likely will not tolerate them. You should plan on raising all the incubator chicks and the one pulled from mama yourself. If there is room in the coop to give them their own sectioned off area, move them out there so the other chickens are used to their presence. It may make integration a little easier later on.

Even though it wasn't an ideal situation, you learned something! Those real-life lessons are the ones best learned, I think. Good luck with your babies.
 

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