chicks leaving hen for a couple of hours

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Dwest08

Dwest08

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Hi to all, and I hope someone can help me. I am fairly new to chickens having just started this post summer with three hens and two roosters. One hen went broody and I let her sit on the eggs as it would be my first hatching and my young hens as well. She had been an excellent mother hatching 4 chicks and taking exceptional care of them. It been amazing watching her and then. Now to my question. The chicks are one week old and my young daughter and her class want me to bring them up to the school and leave in the classroom for about 4 hours. The chicks will be two weeks old on the the day am to take them. Will they be fine without their mother for that long and will she react ok to then when they return? Or should I only take them if I can take momma hen?
 
If you take the chicks from her the chicks will constantly call for her and so will she call for them(you will distress both of them).If you really want to take them I would suggest to take the mom too. I don't know about the mom taking them back after you bring them home from being away from her.
 
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The best scenario would be to take the hen along with the chicks unless she is hyper in temperament. Another possibility is to leave at least one chick home with 'mom' and take the other chicks to school for a shorter period of time so that they do not become chilled and so that the hen does not become distressed.
 
The chicks will need supplemental heat away from their mother - at that age in a brooder, the heat would probably be 85-90 degrees. If you can't maintain that I wouldn't chance the chicks getting chilled. I imagine they will be handled by children and stressed by that also. Actually what I would do is shoot a video of the chicks with their mother, showing how well she cares for them, and keep everyone safe at home.

But that is just my opinion. If the chicks were 6 or 8 weeks old and pretty much feathered out I would feel differently.
 
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I'm glad you joined our community!

I don't have much experience with broody hens and their chicks, but the other members have answered your question well.
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Welcome to BYC!
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I'm glad you joined us.

You've received some good advice already! Good luck with the chicks.
 

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