Fist baby hatched

[Honigbienchen]

Good morning!
My first baby hatched this morning. I have momma and baby in a coop and run separated from everyone else. But they can still see her, and walk around the outside of the coop. I noticed my flock is hovering around the coop now that they can hear the baby peeping. Should I let them in or keep them separated? Are they curious because they wanna kill the baby or will they accept the baby because it’s one of there flock mates offspring? Thank you

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Definitely keep them separately. Some will be curious, and others may not be nice. It can depend on your hens rank within the flock. Top hens often have no problems, but lower ranking hens often have to fight, and chicks may be killed.

I would keep them separately within sight for a week or two to give the chicks a chance to gains some strength and bond with their mom. You may still need to provide a safe place for chicks to escape, and may need to manage the situation when you release them.

There's a reason why a hen if left to her own devices will nest somewhere away from the flock and won't return until chicks are ready for the journey. Other hens may see her offspring as competition for their own potential offspring.

 

[Honigbienchen]

Definitely keep them separately. Some will be curious, and others may not be nice. It can depend on your hens rank within the flock. Top hens often have no problems, but lower ranking hens often have to fight, and chicks may be killed.

I would keep them separately within sight for a week or two to give the chicks a chance to gains some strength and bond with their mom. You may still need to provide a safe place for chicks to escape, and may need to manage the situation when you release them.

There's a reason why a hen if left to her own devices will nest somewhere away from the flock and won't return until chicks are ready for the journey. Other hens may see her offspring as competition for their own potential offspring.

Thank you very much for the advice! She is my top hen, but I have a problem hen that has been challenging her for the past few months I am worried about.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Congratulations about the new chick!
And i would keep them seperated.

 

[Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies]

Congrats! I'm happy for you. And yeah, I'd keep the mom and the baby in a separate coop, for safety reasons.

 

[Honigbienchen]

Thank you all very much

 

[Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies]

Thank you all very much

Of course! I hope the chick is doing ok

 

[lauriehenson]

Thank you very much for the advice! She is my top hen, but I have a problem hen that has been challenging her for the past few months I am worried about.

My bottom hen hatched a baby this last June and I kept them separate about a week. But she turned into get away from my baby mama! Don’t worry. After a few days the curiosity will subside and any other curiosity will be chased out of them by mama no matter her status. Just let her continue to return to the brooder at nite. My mama turned around and hatched four more almost right away and those babies are just fine. No separation whatsoever. She just paraded out of the brooder with four babies and my other fifteen birds already knew to stay away. She was being terribly picked on before she had babies. So, let them adjust after the first batch they’ll be fine. I let them run my entire backyard tho. It’s not small but is big for them. They seem to like my patio the best. LOL