Help! Our missing hen has returned and she's not alone!

[randylyons]

Our hen that we thought was snatched by a hawk about 4-6 weeks ago returned yesterday with 7 chicks. We are happy, shocked, overwhelmed, and TOTALLY unprepared. So many questions!

We have her and the chicks isolated from the rest of the flock in a 2' x 4' wooden box, until I can build something for them. I realize they will outgrow that box soon, so I'm desperate for some advice. Thanks in advance...

 

[DobieLover]

Our hen that we thought was snatched by a hawk about 4-6 weeks ago returned yesterday with 7 chicks. We are happy, shocked, overwhelmed, and TOTALLY unprepared. So many questions!

We have her and the chicks isolated from the rest of the flock in a 2' x 4' wooden box, until I can build something for them. I realize they will outgrow that box soon, so I'm desperate for some advice. Thanks in advance...

Don't isolate them. Let her bring her chicks into the flock. This is important. She will protect the chicks and they should be allowed to bond with their father.
Put the flock on chick starter with a container or two of oyster shell on the side. She will take care of them. She will nest with them on the floor of the coop until the chicks are big enough to take to the roost.

 

[Perris]

you do not need to isolate them; your hen instinctively knows what she is doing, and will look after them. She has brought them home to integrate them into the flock, having nested secretly for 3 weeks.

They will need non-layers feed however, and ideally a chick crumb. Until you can get some of that, you can offer scrambled egg, breadcrumbs, and other small piece or soft foods.

 

[Brooks_]

Can you section off an area of the coop?

 

[Brooks_]

Let her bring her chicks into the flock

After the amount of time gone, would she not need re-integration?

 

[Chuckie chicken]

Sounds like an adventure!

 

[DobieLover]

Can you section off an area of the coop?

Not a good idea.

After the amount of time gone, would she not need re-integration?

No. She already came back with her brood. No one attacked her or the chicks. She was likely visiting daily during her broody breaks. The flock knows she's back and has chicks.

 

[Brooks_]

No one attacked her or the chicks

I didn't see any mention of contact with the flock in the OP.

She was likely visiting daily during her broody breaks

That makes sense.

 

[DobieLover]

I didn't see any mention of contact with the flock in the OP.

That makes sense.

It was not mentioned. Only that she returned. The chances of the OP being outside and seeing her march up with her brood and corralling her and the chicks before contact was made are remote at best, if not impossible. If she took off to establish her nest outside the enclosure and was presumed to be dead, I conclude that the flock free ranges.
I've allowed many hens to hatch here. I've fully isolated none of them. They are simply established in a floor nest in the maternity ward and once fully grafted to the new nest site, are given their clutch of selected fertile eggs. The mothers bring their chicks out when they are ready and I've never had a single incident of a chick being attacked.
I feel that the more space the flock has to behave naturally, the more optimal the conditions are for broodies to work out well. Free ranging over a large area is ideal for normal healthy flock behavior. You will occasionally see aberrant behavior among an individual within the flock and those isolated incidents can be dealt with but are not common and to be expected.

 

[cmom]

If you have any issues maybe you can get a melon box. I have used them. it's around 4'x5'.