Foster chick and non-laying hen.

[ChickenLady2015]

I bought my 8 year old nephew a baby chick for the summer and it's about 3 weeks old now, we had an injured hen in a dog crate in our laundry room and we put the chick in with her. She adopted the chick and began mothering it without a second thought, though she's not old enough to lay yet. We have 14 free ranging chickens that share a 12'x12' coop at night. The injured hen was ready to go back to the flock, and we took her and the chick out there, but we have 2 Russian chickens, and they started brutally attacking the chick. They left the hen alone though. Is it OK if we let the hen outside during the day and put her back in the crate with the chick at night? The Russians are bigger than her, and she can't defend against them.

 

[Percheron chick]

Just leave her with the chick. She might not go back to it ir she might fret the entire time she is separated from it.

 

[ChickenLady2015]

I took the chick out there for a bit and just watched them together for a while and kept the others away. She stayed with the chick the whole time. But I brought the baby back inside. I'm going to bring her in tonight and put her with the chick again. Until I get her back in there, I put a stuffed teddy bear in the kennel, which seems to make the chick feel a little better.