Getting Independent

[Treegod]

How long do chicks depend on their mother for body warmth? I saw one refence was 10 weeks but I've seen others say shorter. And by the looks of the chicks I have now they don't need their mother to warm them any more, though they still like to hide under her when they perch.

 

[MiniBeesKnees]

My last two broody hens decided for themselves that six weeks was long enough and quit taking them into the kennel on the floor they had hatched in, and spent nights in. She got up on the high roost where they couldn't, and left them to their own devices. They would go into the kennel and peep for her and huddle together, but she'd just look down on them. When they tried to roost with her, she'd peck them away. Both the hens...sisters...did it.