Hen hatched chicks

[VanessasFlock]

One of my hens went broody and successfully hatched 6 beautiful chicks. They are about 6 days old now and are doing quite well. We have her and the chicks in a small coop separated from the rest of the flock. At what age can we let them leave the coop? Should we continue to keep them separate for a few more weeks? I was thinking about moving them into a dog kennel for a while before mixing them in the general population. Since I have twenty other hens and three roosters I want to protect the babies, but don't want to be over-protective.

 

[Dawns Funy Farm]

i usually keep my just hatched chicks and hen in a small pen inside the big coop for a week to ten days then let them loose into the big coop, mama will usually keep them safe from the others and take them out to free range when they are ready