Different chicks from different hens

[faithtomlinson]

Hi everyone!!
on Friday I had one of my hens hatch two eggs and we moved both the hen and the two chicks into another coop that is separated from our main coop. Yesterday (sunday) I had a different hen hatch just 1 chick. All the chicks are doing well but I don’t have another area to put the other chick and the hen. I am wondering if I need to separate them from the flock or if I can combine the two hens and the chicks. Any advice is appreciated!!

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Combining could end up badly. The hens might attack each other’s chicks.

 

[Chicalina]

each hen and chick group can be housed in a small area for a couple of weeks, like a dog crate for example in the coop or run. They don't need much space to start with. Then 1 or 2 weeks in you can start to integrate them into the main flock.

 

[K0k0shka]

Depending on the breeds and temperaments of the other flock members, you might be able to just let the hens raise their chicks with the flock. Having two moms may complicate things, but then again it might also make things easier, if they decide to share parenting duties and raise their chicks together (some hens do that). You can always give it a try and see how it goes. Just be there and observe their first reactions. I just let a broody raise chicks with the flock this spring, without moving her anywhere, and everybody was cool with it. She defended her babies and plucked a lot of feathers to get her point across, so the other hens left her and the babies alone and they've been living peacefully together for about a month now. A lot of people rush to separate a broody and her chicks, but that's not always necessary. Try keeping the broodies with the flock and see how it goes. Even if you get one of them to stay with the flock, you can still separate the other, since you do have that other space. If you can get at least one broody situated with the flock, then you won't need to look for a second maternity space.