Do I need to separate baby chicks from the rest of the flock?

[JoshR]

Hi. I have 19 Isa Browns and one Rooster. (I don't know the breed but it's a light red and brown) And I was planning on raising some baby chicks but I've never raised them from eggs before. The ones that we have now were given to use. So I was wondering.

Do I need to separate the chicks from the rest of the flock? Or can I just leave them with the other chickens?

I know that in most cases you need to separate the rooster, but we were going to get rid of it soon anyways (It's crowing driving my mom nuts so she wants it gone) so that is not an issue. But what of the other chickens? And the Mother/s?

I was originally planning on building a separate area for the chicks in our chicken coop and put the chicks in there.

Do I need to put the mother/s in there as well? Or can I just put the chicks in there? And if I do need to put the mother/s in there how can I even tell who is/are the mother/s? I have a fairly large chicken coop and fenced in yard for them to be in if that matters.

Also if anyone has some advice for raising chicks I would be happy to read them.

 

[aayto1]

With my own experience I like to seperate the mother hen and her chicks from the rest of the flock until the chis are 8weeks old because of the size. When they are smaller and younger they get stood on and squished by the other flock by accident an usually the results are fatal. Atleast when they are older the mother hen will defend them an they will fit right in with the flock an they wont be too little an fragile

 

[wamflock]

Keep the mother hen and chicks together. Just keep them seperate from the rest of the crew .

 

[birdsss]

ok. so are you going to buy the chicks? if so you must usually raise them in a brooder separate from all the rest of your chickens. typically(there are cases where they will) a hen wont accept chicks that she did not sit on and hatch out herself. just because there are chicks hanging around doesnt make the hen wanna be mom to them. its like someone dropping off a bunch of kids at your house that arent yours and sayin here you go raise these!

they should be kept separate from the flock until they are 2+ months old to avoid them being picked on or hurt. it will also take this amount of time for them to grow feathers to be warm enough for living outside

chicks will need a heat lamp, chick starter food, and a waterer. we use the largest rubbermaid style storage totes for our brooder boxes

 

[Judy]

If I have a broody and new chicks, and the broody (or mama) accepts the chicks as her own, I don't separate anyone. If the chicks are very young, a few days old, she should accept them if you slip them under her just after dark, so she has overnight to get accustomed to their presence. A good mama will keep them warm, see that they eat and drink, and protect them from anyone in the flock who gets too curious, including a rooster. Then when she decides she is through being a mama, the flock has already accepted the chicks.

A lot of people separate mama and chicks from the rest of the flock. I've only had a broody raise chicks maybe 5 or 6 times, but I've never had a problem. The rooster was never a threat, and some of them actually helped the mama raise the chicks. It was other hens that the mama would chase away from the chicks.

 

[mandelyn]

If you hatch them in an incubator, you'll for sure have to separate them. You'll be the mother, it doesn't matter who laid the egg, who ever hatched it is the mother. If a hen goes broody (one that will not leave the nest, not even at night, and she gets real huffy and puffy about being disturbed) then she would be the mother. I always set up a broody in her own hutch, just for peace of mind. I hate going out and finding a dead chick when another chicken decided to peck it too hard. I have one hen who's just terrible about being mean to new babies. She's going to find herself sold if it keeps up.

The chicks need the protection of the mother or a good brooder. Since you're saying a time of when you'll be hatching, I'd imagine that means you're going to incubate. Be prepared to keep those babies away from the adults for 8 weeks or more. You'll need a giant brooder or a smaller one and then a grow out pen. You can also use wire to set up a pen inside the coop, so that the adults can get used to them without causing any harm. It can be quite the process to get young birds accepted into the flock.

With chickens, it's not a bad idea to practice building smaller coops or hutches for when there are babies, a broody hen, new birds, sick birds... the more places you can put chickens the easier it gets to manage them and keep them safe. We have a small-ish lot, but the way I add and remove birds through out the year, I have the main coop, an 8x3 hutch for broodies or babies, 3 big dog crates, 4 brooders of various sizes, and several rolls of fencing for setting up temporary areas. You never know when an issue may strike. A broody that rejects chicks, for example, they need immediately removed from the coop, and they'll need a place to go.

I used to sell my brooder after I was done, thinking I wouldn't need it for awhile and that I was happy with my flock. Next thing you know I find some new breed I MUST have, or someone offers eggs for free to a breed that's hard to find, or some other situation. I only sell pens if I have built a better one now. I don't even needs my husband's help anymore in building little pens!

 

[JoshR]

Okay. I was planing on hatching eight to ten eggs. So would't I end up having eight to ten mother hens? Since I think I get one egg per hen a day. Do I just pick one hen? And if so how will I know which hen is a mother? Also how big of an area should I make for them? And should I let them (or the mother) go outside?

 

[aayto1]

In order to hatch eggs you need a broody/clucky hen to sit on them. You can use an incubator but then you will be the mother hen so to speak. The chicken that sits on the eggs you put under her is the mother hen of all chicks that hatch out. Then you would need to seperate the chicks and the heb once the eggs have hatched. Do you have chicks or are u planning to?

 

[JoshR]

I don't have chicks yet. I was planning on waiting a few weeks for it to get warmer. So I need to separate the chicks from the hen?

 

[aayto1]

Right. It is best yes to prevent dead chicks to separate. Hope this helps