HELP! Hen and two babies what to do?

[JONNIEGIRL]

We had two full grown Rock Plymouth hens gifted to us about 3 months ago. The bought 8 new baby chicks. Six bantams and
two silkies. I was so worried over them that I kept them in a brooder and as they got bigger in a baby playpen inside my home
as I felt the outside garage was too cold. At 8 weeks we finally too them outside and introduced them to the two older girls and put them in the coop and
run where they seemed to very happy. I was in love and so attached to them. At 9 1/2 weeks old a skunk dug down over
18 inches of pure concrete and made a tunnel to get himself inside the coop and killed all 8 of the babies,. He did not eat
them and just killed them. The two full grown girls were fine up on the roosts. When we open the coop door we came
face to face with the skunk in the morning still inside. By the time we ran to the house and back out again he was gone
and just dead baby chicks and lots of screaming and crying.

Now we have a strand of 25 c9 large Christmas lights that are clear so pretty bright
shinning down where the skunk came in. And a shop light at the corner out there.
We also kept the two girls in our garage for a few nights and brought in an old
wooden ladder for them to roost on. We spread flower out by the coop on the ground to see if any other critters came
back and so far nothing. We also spread moth balls outside of the coop and run where the chickens can not get to so
help keep the skunk away.

My question is about our new hens. Today we got 5 full grown bantams and a rooster. Oh my he is gorgeous. But one of
the hens came with two new baby chicks that are approx 2 weeks old. The babies are so tiny they can go in and out the
fence! So we took a baby playpen and filled it with bedding and a feeder and water container and put a grated top on
it so they could not fly out. But the Mother stayed on top carrying on for 2 hours. Finally we lifted the grating and she
got in with the babies and settled right down. BUT.....we are so in fear of the skunk that we were too afraid to leave
them in the coop at night. All the other hens and rooster are up high on the posts. But we felt like she and the babies
were just sitting targets if a skunk were to get back in. So we carried the playpen into our garage for the night with
the mother inside. Our garage is 100% secure and so no worries there. My question is...should I just separate the
Mother tomorrow from the babies or keep her in the playpen with them? And if so for how long? I can not face any
more babies being hurt of killed by anything. HELP.

We will be putting in a wood floor as soon as we can afford to which hopefully is in the next few weeks, but for now
I am trying to protect them as best as I can. The barn and the coop were already here on our 5 acres when we bought
the place in January and being a city girl this is all new to me. I love this site and read stuff on here everyday.
Our coop is about 13 by 13 feet inside and I am sure will be big enough for 9 hens and a rooster. The run is about
15 by 25.
Thank you for any advice and if you know of any thing else we can do to keep the skunk or skunks out or away.
Be Well,
Jonnie

 

[16 paws]

Hello,
Just wanted to say you must keep mama with her babies. They are too young to be without her. Good luck on everything else. Do you have a small animal trap you can put out for the skunk?
Marie

 

[JONNIEGIRL]

Hi Maire,
Thank you for the quick answer. Do you think I should let the Mama out in the run for a few hours during the day or will she be okay
in the playpen all the time. The have plenty of room in there and of course food and water. We also cut up some lettuce for her too
and she liked it a lot. I do not have a trap, but someone said I could try to see if the animal control had one we could borrow? I had
not heard that before....so I will give them a call on Monday. I was also told a Rooster is a good thing to have to protect the hens?
Be well,
Jonnie (like the boys name Johnny

 

[16 paws]

Hi Maire,
Thank you for the quick answer. Do you think I should let the Mama out in the run for a few hours during the day or will she be okay
in the playpen all the time. The have plenty of room in there and of course food and water. We also cut up some lettuce for her too
and she liked it a lot. I do not have a trap, but someone said I could try to see if the animal control had one we could borrow? I had
not heard that before....so I will give them a call on Monday. I was also told a Rooster is a good thing to have to protect the hens?
Be well,
Jonnie (like the boys name Johnny

Hi Jonnie,

I would leave her with her chicks at all times. Once they have chicks they freak out if they cant be with them. This is true of all my mama broodys anyway. When the chicks are a little bigger and older then they can all venture out together. Mama will watch her babies. Just make sure the run is baby safe, no holes in the fence small enough for them to sneak thru.
I have lost some chickens to predators also but havent lost one since I have been keeping a roo. So yes, they are good to have around to protect the flock. They will send out a warning call when something gets near that is a threat.
Why dont you just get a large dog crate that you can lock them in at night? Then you can keep them in the coop. If you have some chicken wire it is easy to make a little area for them to get around during the day time. Chickens are a lot of fun but you do have to make some makeshift housing for them on the fly sometimes.

Try not to worry too much and enjoy them!
Marie

 

[JONNIEGIRL]

Hi,
I wish I had a big dog crate. I have one that is all wire but too small. If it were just babies I am sure it would be okay. But the playpen is 3 times the size. We do have a huge kind of grate over the top. I know this is hard to see but I wanted to give you an idea of how big it is. They all seem happy. The garage has 4 windows and we also have the ceiling lights on during the day. I am so afraid to put this out in the coop since we had an issue with the skunk last time. I have no idea if he got in (we have huge floodlights out there now) that he could chew through the netting? Thanks, Be well, Jonnie

 

[16 paws]

I think that is fine to keep them in for a while. They seem happy in there. When you get the coop more secure you can move them all out there. Just let mom protect the littles. My other hens wont go near a mamas chicks without getting a a slap down from her.

Since every chickenality is different make sure you watch them a little at first to ensure you have no bullies in the group but I really think that is rare. I always put a box or something in front of a corner so the babies can run behind and the big chicks cant get in behind the box because they are too big. The babies can dart back there lickity split if they get scared.

Enjoy
Marie

 

[JONNIEGIRL]

We have nothing fancy or pretty this year as the coop was already here. We do plan on improving it and putting in a wood floor....that will be the next thing we do. But we have 4 poles for them to get up on at night plus 2 of the Plymouth rock girls like the old wooden ladder a lot. If you look at the picture inside with the Rooster (Elivs) next to the black trash can full of bedding....that corner is where the skunk dug
down 18 inches under the cement footing from the outside and came in to kill all 8 of our sweet 9 1/2 month chicks. They had only been out 10 days. Well now in the corner and any other corner we have buried 6 to inch wide and 4 feet long tree limbs and then covered them with dirt. I do not think he can get in anymore. Not shown in the picture are big cement blocks over all of that in each of the corners. Plus those lights now outside are blinding at night. I would love to at least move the play pen and Momma inside the coop. Sadly our fence has holes big enough for the babies to scoot right in and out of during the day as I would love to allow them out to run. Maybe funds allowing this weekend we can make a small pen outside and out of the direct sun for them just during the day.
Sorry for all the questions, but you seem so very knowledgeable. I am very happy for any advice at all. Be well, Jonnie

 

[16 paws]

Jonnie,
You are very welcome for the advice. I am no expert by any means but having chickens for the last two years has taught me a lot. It is really devastating to lose them and I am very sorry for your loss. I remember back to my first hen I lost and I felt sick to my stomach for a long while. I have a lot of predators here. We had a bobcat come in broad daylight and kill my hen Dixie. Then we put up chain link fence and it reached through and pulled a polish pullet thru and killed her. Then another pullet got too close to the fence and was pulled taken, all we found were feathers. So sad. I put up chicken wire over the chain link and we havent had any more losses. The rooster is really helping a lot now too. I havent had any losses since I have been keeping my roo with the girls.

I think your skunk will stay away now but here is something to try. I know it sounds weird but I think it kept the bobcat away as I havent seen it in a long time. If you have any males in your home, husband or son, have them go down there and pee near the coop area. I have read that the animals smell it and are scared of a human being there. I really think it will work! I believe in my heart it did here.
As you go along keep putting layers of protection up and maybe think of getting a big dog also. I would love to do that but I already have 6 Yorkies! We rescued 3 about a year and and I already had three. So my big dog will have to wait.....

Dont worry about having a fancy coop. Just give them plenty of food and water and a safe place to stay at night and they will be happy campers!
Take good care
Marie