Fighting chicks?

[Beaglegal]

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

I’ve seen the wandering rooster hanging out with our copper maran rooster. They seemed okay with each other, no fighting. So hopefully he’s not a game cock. He hasn’t been around much since our EE rooster started crowing.
They get plenty of chick food, although they don’t eat much of it. It’s a fight to keep the deer from eating it.

 

[Beaglegal]

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.

I’m kind of wondering when and how to get this group integrated with the main flock. I have another mama with 2 week old chicks I was able to catch and put in a brooder with a separate yard, but I have no idea how to catch all 11 chicks or where to put them.

 

[Beaglegal]

Pictures of hen chicks and father?

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

 

[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]

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.

This mama is wild, she hatched her brood in the woods, she takes them back in there every night. When it’s been raining hard she has acted like she wanted to join the flock but couldn’t figure out how to get in. Apparently she can’t remember how she got out in the first place

 

[Beaglegal]

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

I hope she wants to, I don’t really want them living in the woods forever

 

[Beaglegal]

Here is a pic I just took of one of the fighters.

 

[Folly's place]

Cockerel.

 

[feathermaid]

Remember that out of 11 chicks, half of them will be cockerels. So the fighting ones could very well be boys... but my girls did the same exact thing at that age and my newest layers occasionally still do (at 6 months). It's just them learning how to establish pecking order.

This mama is wild, she hatched her brood in the woods, she takes them back in there every night. When it’s been raining hard she has acted like she wanted to join the flock but couldn’t figure out how to get in. Apparently she can’t remember how she got out in the first place

So she's not totally wild. She used to be a member of your current flock?
If she can see through the fence, she'll be confused. My run door is open to the bigger yard all day and my birds still get confused about the doorway sometimes if they're on the other side and want back in or out.

I hope she wants to, I don’t really want them living in the woods forever

I have no idea how to catch all 11 chicks or where to put them.

If you can bribe the mama to get inside, then close the door to lock her in, the babies will want inside too... maybe. At 4 weeks they're getting close to the age to be on their own. Do this in the evening and wait til after dark. The chicks hopefully will stay close by and be easier to catch in the dark. You'll have to keep them locked in the coop/run for a week or 2 so they learn that's their new home. If you don't have space to keep them all, you might want to start rehoming them now. Or build a bigger coop!