Hen leaving 4 week old chicks

[YzmaChicken1]

Hello! My hen has been doing great raising her 3 baby chicks for the past month, but when I went to check on them a few minutes ago the hen was on the roost and had left the chicks in the nesting box. I put the hen back in the box with the chicks but she got back out and went to the roost. The chicks have quite a bit of feathers but aren’t fully feathered yet… will they be too cold? It is around 40 degrees Fahrenheit at night here right now. What should I do? Thanks!

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

I have had hens decide 4 weeks was quite enough time with their babies. Especially spring babies for some reason. Can you offer the babies an enclosed space they can huddle together and keep warm with their body heat? Otherwise you can try penning mom with them in the evenings and she will likely stay with them if she can't access the roost with the rest of the flock. Depending on feathering of the chicks if I have a hen doing this I ensure she is trapped with the chicks each night and then let her be once babies are 5 weeks old.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The chicks are old enough (and your temperatures are warm enough) that they should be fine without her. If the chicks are currently returning to the nest box at night for bedtime, they'll snuggle together and help keep each other warm.

 

[YzmaChicken1]

Thank you for the replies! The chicks actually ended up going on the roost when I left and slept there all night!!