Do you separate Mama and her babies from the flock? **PICS ADDED**

[thechickenchick]

I just discovered my silkie "Paris" is a Mom! This is my first experience with a successful broody.

She still has 2 eggs under her. My question is..

Is it better to leave her in with the other birds and let her take care of her baby, or should I separate her? I did a search and found conflicting advise. I am really nervous that the chick might be harmed but I do believe in mother nature and would like to believe it will be fine to leave them be. What would you do? Thanks for your help.

I will post pictures soon, I have to run errands first!

 

[panner123]

Mama will take care of the chicks. Watch her and see what she does to anything that gets to close to her chicks. Even the meanest roo you have won't bother the chicks.

 

[thechickenchick]

Thank you! I feel so much better now. That is what I wanted to hear. She has never been aggressive in any way, but when I tried to peek under her, she growled at me! I didn't know she had it in her!

 

[thechickenchick]

Here is the pics I promised. She wasn't very accommodating so they aren't the best. But I don't blame her! I would be pretty protective of this little cutie too!

Its hard to see but it has feet feathers! It doesn't have the silkie skin though. So I think it is a cross of my Cochin (Selina) and Silkie Roo (Nick). Paris was really just the surrogate, but don't tell her that!!

 

[4-H chicken mom]

How many other birds are you talking about? I would have to seperate them. It will only take a couple of birds that might be mean and mom won't be able to protect the babies if they run in different directions. I couldn't take that chance. What a cutie you have there. Good Luck.

 

[Beekissed]

My sis integrated hers too soon and the other hens attacked and killed a few of the chicks. I wait until the chicks are a week or two old and let them out with the flock for short intervals. I watch to see if the hen is able to defend them or if she is getting ganged up on. After a couple of days of integration for short periods of time, I let them go the whole day and see how things shape up.

This last batch are actually being shared by two broodies and we went out there this evening to find both hens and all three chicks crowded into a nest box in the coop for the night!

My older roo actually started in right away trying to find the chicks food and helping the hen. It was the other hens that started picking on the mom and following the chicks around in a threatening way.

 

[jakmallex]

I'd separate for awhile too. I had the same situation with my broody silkie. One hatched, she was still sitting on the other eggs. Everything was fine until the other chickens came in for the night. They pecked the baby until it was all bloody. It was still alive when I found it, so I rushed it in, gave it some sugar water, and held it under a heat lamp, but it didn't make it. The broodies are caged in now so it doesn't happen again.

That being said...last year I had just 1 hen and 1 rooster living together and the hen raised 11 babies with the rooster being in the enclosure with her the whole time.

 

[Shay1327]

I have left my Mama and babies in with the flock and have had no problems. Nobody in my flock would dare mess with my Mama, she would kick their butts (She's a bantam too and I have standards also). She even takes the babies out free ranging in the field.

(In this pic one of the babies is just to the left of her, he has a red head)

(In this pic one of the babies is in the upper rt. hand side kinda under the stick)