Caring for Hen hatched Chicks?

[TamsSharp]

I have Dark Brahma hens that are hatching their first clutches of eggs. The chicks that started hatching Monday night/Tuesday morning.
Their mamas are caring for them but I wanted to know if I should still provide them with chick starter feed or will the hens make sure that they get the food they need?
Should I keep the hens and chicks locked in the coop or allow the hens to decide when they are going to take the chicks outside?

 

[Helloworld]

Yes, they should be placed in a secure pen away from predators. Baby chick feeding should be medicated starter if you are unable to vaccinate for Coccidosis. Here is what Nutrena recommends:


“On the 21st day expect chicks and a very protective mother hen. She’ll keep her babies warm, and offer an opportunity to observe her parenting. It is important to keep baby chicks away from mature birds, which sometimes will kill them if they get the chance.

Feeding baby chicks who are hatched by mom is also important. You need to make sure that you are only offering chick starter to the entire group. Young birds cannot eat layer feed because the elevated levels of calcium can harm their internal organs, so feeding chick starter (even to the hen and any other older birds that have access to the feed) is a must.

Mom has a diverse vocabulary of clucks. She almost constantly gives a low cluck to re-assure the chicks. When she scratches in leaves or dirt, revealing food, she’ll give a special higher pitched cluck that means, “Come here and eat, kids.” If she feels threatened or thinks her chicks are in danger or are getting too far away, the tenor and speed of the cluck increases. Initially the chicks scamper to her. As they get more confident, they roam further away and the intrepid chick that does not adhere to the call “Chicks, come home,” gets scolded by the mother hen when it does return.

Being a good mother hen is hard work, and after her chicks are eight or ten weeks old and putting on weight she’ll decide it’s time to quit parenting and rejoin the flock. After a couple of weeks she’ll likely start laying again.