Fighting chicks?

[Beaglegal]

I have a mother hen who hatched 11 chicks. She’s a free ranger and has raised the chicks near the house and a wooded area near by so they have plenty of room. They are a month old and 2 chicks in particular have started fighting with each other. Its never over food, just when they are milling about on the lawn. My husband is convinced they are going to be roosters. Would they be fighting this early if they were male?

 

[Beaglegal]

Pictures of hen chicks and father?

Here is the whole crew foraging around our propane tank that I took just now.

 

[slordaz]

They will start young if you have more than one from what I have seen in the brooder, luckily my broody only had one rooster the others were all pullets. I have 2 3 day old that keep really testing each other, bumping chests the whole 9 yards and they are only 3 days old

 

[Beaglegal]

Pictures of hen chicks and father?

Mama, the buff Orpington, father is unknown. We have a copper maran rooster and a recently matured EE rooster. The third and most likely option is the orange, white with green tail feathers rooster that roams the neighborhood

 

[Folly's place]

Sparring can start early, between both cockerels and pullets, and as long as nobody's injured, it's fine.
My concern would be if daddy is a game cock, and produces cockerels who are serious about fighting at an early age.
At this point, just watch and see how things develop.
And make sure they all have access to a good chick starter or all flock diet.
Mary

 

[Criticalicious]

On average, a broody will mother chicks until 5 or 6 weeks old, sometimes shorter or longer. I have a BCM broody right now with 3 chicks who are 6 weeks and she's still mothering them, more at night when it's chilly and they want to snuggle with her.

 

[Folly's place]

Mama will integrate them, it shouldn't be a problem. Just be ready to deal with all the extra cockerels!
I'm glad your visiting rooster is mellow, a very good sign.
Mary

 

[Criticalicious]

I left the mama and 3 babies in the main coop and run with everybody else so they were integrated from Day 1. They spent their first week confined to a dog crate in the coop until the babies were able to walk on their own, but the flock could look inside and see them running around the crate. Starting the second week, they were in the crate at night but during the day in a wire crate in the run. This was a look but don't touch period for a week or two. When mama decided she wanted to sleep on the roost instead of the crate (at about 4 weeks old), I removed the crate and let them all snuggle on the roosts.

The look but don't touch period is the most important for letting the babies learn how to socialize with the adult flock members. Mama will mostly protect them and they will learn how to behave to avoid getting pecked.

 

[Beaglegal]

Give momma a big handful of yummy treats to tut about. All the babies will come running if they are within hearing distance. Maybe try luring her into a fenced area where they can all be contained.

Well I managed to lure her back in which, they stayed for awhile and then they escaped. This confirms to me that she does remember how to get in and out. Since she does know how to do this I am tempted to stop feeding her and the chicks outside the gates and make them come into the fenced area for food

 

[centrarchid]

Pictures of hen chicks and father?