Help! Hen dead what to do with her chicks?

[netleygirl]

Last night I lost a hen and four of her chicks ,two are left. They are about three weeks old. They haven't been in the coop before as I couldn't catch them. I have caught the last two and have them in a carrier in the coop. I have a small coop not really big enough to section off an area but they are to small to join the flock aren't they? What should I do next? Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

They should be okay to join, just watch for bullying. My birds don't really care about new chicks as long as they mind the rules at feed time. Others have hens that are aggressive towards chicks but I don't keep aggressive birds.

 

[DancingWthDucks]

I would personally:

Remove them from the flock and put them in a brooder with a heat lamp/ heat pad, until they are large enough to join the flock.

Or...

Keep them with the flock with bolt holes for them to hide in if they get picked on, and give them some type of heat source. Watch out for bullying.

 

[donrae]

Where are you located? How are your nighttime temps?

At this age, they'll probably need some supplemental heat at night, but not so much during the day unless your weather is chilly. Since you say space is tight in the coop, I'd say set up a brooder for a few more weeks until they're feathered out all the way.

Once they're feathered, you can put them out. There are lots of threads here about introducing littles to bigs. Read through and see what will work for your set up and space.

 

[netleygirl]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Chicks are going to be spending chilly nights in my laundry room for now. They didn't spend time under the hen during the day so I'll bring them out to the run during the day while everyone else is ranging.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Chicks are going to be spending chilly nights in my laundry room for now. They didn't spend time under the hen during the day so I'll bring them out to the run during the day while everyone else is ranging.

Sounds like a good plan. I have three four-month-old chicks that are out in the coop with the rest, no supplemental heat. I was offering it but they weren't using it. I'm in Maryland. I think nights are in the high 60s now.