Found my lost hen, but will she bring her clutch home?

[Perris]

there's lots of good advice above; I've nothing to add but to wish you and your new clutch good luck!

 

[Beaglegal]

About a month ago by favorite Australorp hen disappeared out of the blue. We coop our flock at night and they free-range during the day so we understand there's a risk for losing some to predators and assumed that was the case. Today I was in the barn and guess what? Peck was huddled up in the corner of an unused stall! When I moved towards the gate, she ran outside with about 16 baby chicks following her. I'd guess them to be just a few days old. My question is, will she bring them home to the coop with the rest of the flock? Should I find her nest and scoop them all up at night and move them into the coop? Will the rest of the flock let the chics in? I'm not sure what to do! I have attached a picture of our coop. There isn't a run, we just lower the ramp door in the morning to let everyone out and close it back up at night when they go to bed. Water and feed are inside. There are laying boxes 24" off the floor and staggered roosts throughout. The side windows can be opened (screens are over the windows on the inside) and there is a ventilation fan on the roof. Our flock: Oreo (barred rock roo), Henrietta (brown leghorn hen), The Twins (two white leghorn hens), Nugget (black sex-link hen), Scratch (Australorp hen), and of course, Elmer (cayuga deck hen). We have two duck boxes on the ground with straw in them suck Elmer doesn't roost or fly up to the laying boxes. Can Peck and her brood go in the duck box Elmer isn't using? View attachment 2011765

I had this exact situation except mine had hers outside in the undergrowth. She did not willingly intergrate her chicks so at 6 weeks I rounded all 11 of them up (total circus involving lots of netting and chasing) and confined them to a coop for a week. They adjusted. I had to do something because they were getting soaked every time it rained and we had a raccoon and coyote in the area. With yours safe at night I think you can wait and see what she does.

 

[Peppercorngal]

About a month ago by favorite Australorp hen disappeared out of the blue. We coop our flock at night and they free-range during the day so we understand there's a risk for losing some to predators and assumed that was the case. Today I was in the barn and guess what? Peck was huddled up in the corner of an unused stall! When I moved towards the gate, she ran outside with about 16 baby chicks following her. I'd guess them to be just a few days old. My question is, will she bring them home to the coop with the rest of the flock? Should I find her nest and scoop them all up at night and move them into the coop? Will the rest of the flock let the chics in? I'm not sure what to do! I have attached a picture of our coop. There isn't a run, we just lower the ramp door in the morning to let everyone out and close it back up at night when they go to bed. Water and feed are inside. There are laying boxes 24" off the floor and staggered roosts throughout. The side windows can be opened (screens are over the windows on the inside) and there is a ventilation fan on the roof. Our flock: Oreo (barred rock roo), Henrietta (brown leghorn hen), The Twins (two white leghorn hens), Nugget (black sex-link hen), Scratch (Australorp hen), and of course, Elmer (cayuga deck hen). We have two duck boxes on the ground with straw in them suck Elmer doesn't roost or fly up to the laying boxes. Can Peck and her brood go in the duck box Elmer isn't using? View attachment 2011765

Mama hen will probably NOT want to return to that coop with her 16 babies. You don't say how many chickens you had to begin with, but, adding 16 more to that little coop is not going to work. It is way too small! There could be an issue with the other chickens not accepting the little chicks into their territory all of a sudden as well. Sometimes a rooster decides that little chicks are not welcome as well, you never know. I'd leave them in their current nest for now and see if Mama will take them back to the original coop in time. If you are planning to keep most of them (there is a 50% chance of roosters in the 16) I heartily suggest a much bigger coop! Congratulations on a great brooder and a completely new flock! Lucky you!

 

[Trevorusn]

Wow, I wish my scenario similar to this played out this way...our BSL started laying when we free ranged them. We were praying she went broody somewhere but she never returned. Hearing tales like this are uplifting, glad you saw she is safe with new wee ones.

 

[RosiePosey]

@aart
Thanks for the info on adding location! I'm in East Texas and have updated my profile

 

[RosiePosey]

@Ridgerunner
Thank you for all of your input! We are managing our flock a lot like you did growing up from the sounds of it. We do keep scratch grains mixed with laying pellets in the coop but we have land and a pond and they spend most of the days foraging and eat very little from their feeders. Our property adjoins a deer lease so there's a variety of wildlife around which we know is a risk as well as other birds and snakes. So far my dogs have done a great job of keeping the flock protected from other animals but, we know things do happen! The girls typically run into the coop to lay their eggs in the laying boxes. We thought the brown layers had just slowed a bit with the cold fronts in December but apparently this girl was just laying hers somewhere else where she could hatch them We ended up leaving her in the barn with the Donkey to let her raise her clutch as she wished but it only took 2 days and she had moved her chicks into an small empty coop we had. She takes them out and roams a bit with them but they haven't wandered far yet. The rest of the flock has stopped by to say hi but so far haven't interfered much. I guess we'll just see what she decides to do with them! For now, she has chick starter and water in the small coop with her and the chicks and free range of the farm.

 

[RosiePosey]

@Peppercorngal

My husband built me this coop because I wanted a handful (maybe 6-7) hens and roo to hang out on the farm and eat bugs and leftover veggies and leave me some fresh eggs! I didn't anticipate tripling the flock overnight! lol We do have another coop where mama has decided to relocate her chicks for now so we added some bedding for her and food and water. We open her gate in the morning but she hasn't wandered too far with the chicks yet. 12 of the chicks have been claimed by friends so far and the other 6 I guess we'll leave with her and see what we get out of them

 

[RosiePosey]

@Trevorusn
I'm sorry to hear about your BSL It's funny how much I get used to watching them out in the field every day and then miss them if one disappears! How long has yours been gone? Peck was missing for about 26 days when she turned back up.

 

[Trevorusn]

@Trevorusn
I'm sorry to hear about your BSL It's funny how much I get used to watching them out in the field every day and then miss them if one disappears! How long has yours been gone? Peck was missing for about 26 days when she turned back up.

Oh, it's been about 4-5 months ago. Sadly she is long gone.

 

[chickens really]

What I do when I have Chicks under a Broody is let my flock out to free range and set Momma and Chicks up in my Coop. When the others come back in they don't do anything to the Chicks. My Rooster will sort of give the missing Hen a lickin and then he totally accepts the Chicks and tidbits and protects them. Momma definitely won't let others near her Chicks either. I keep a separate food and water container close to wear Momma and babies will be. I have never had one issue with adding in the Momma and Chicks.