How best to reintroduction hen & chicks to flock

[roxanne]

I have a hen and her three chicks in a small brooder coop that need more room. How and when can I reintroduce them to the flock?

 

[ChicNmom]

I usually wait until the chicks are a little bigger and fully feathered.
It also depends on the temperament of your flock and rooster if you have one.
If they are still really small can you rig up something temporarily to give them more space?

I keep mine separate for a while but start letting the mom and babies out into the yard with the others. Momma keeps to herself with the babies until she weans them. At least that is what has happened here.

 

[roxanne]

I have a small bunny hutch that I put her in after the chicks hatched. The chicks are now 2 weeks old and their mama is a very good mama. They are also getting more used to me every day. I think I will set the hutch inside the original chicken run this coming week and see how it works for the hen and her chicks. There would be no exterior fencing around the hutch, but the chicks could go back inside the hutch to get away from the older chickens.

 

[aart]

I have a small bunny hutch that I put her in after the chicks hatched. The chicks are now 2 weeks old and their mama is a very good mama. They are also getting more used to me every day. I think I will set the hutch inside the original chicken run this coming week and see how it works for the hen and her chicks. There would be no exterior fencing around the hutch, but the chicks could go back inside the hutch to get away from the older chickens.

Sounds like a good plan.
Where was she as she incubated the eggs?

I like to put my broodies behind a mesh divider in coop, them let them all back into flock about a week after hatch.

 

[Mrs. K]

I find the sooner the better, while the broody hormones are still high in the hen. Too many people wait until the chicks are 4-6 weeks old, and the hen no longer has the urge to protect them.

 

[roxanne]

Sounds like a good plan.
Where was she as she incubated the eggs?

I like to put my broodies behind a mesh divider in coop, them let them all back into flock about a week after hatch.

The Hen set and hatched in a smaller coop that was our original coop. It is high off the ground, so once the chicks hatched, they had to come out of there. Ironically, our regular coop is also high off the ground with a steep ramp, so the chicks will have to maneuver that as they grow. The bunny hutch can sit inside the run with the older chickens and rooster and the babies and mom can stay inside the hutch or come out as they see fit. Hopefully it will work out

 

[GlicksChicks]

I find the sooner the better, while the broody hormones are still high in the hen. Too many people wait until the chicks are 4-6 weeks old, and the hen no longer has the urge to protect them.

I agree. I am lucky to have a pretty calm flock. They accept newcomers, and they took to the baby chicks from my mother hen almost immediately.

I had a broody hen who was laying in one of the nesting boxes, so I let her have a couple chicks from TSC because her eggs did not make it to hatching. Everyone accepted the chicks and the mother protected them if there was any opposition.

I am quite lucky to have a very docile rooster though. He treated them like they were his own. He gave them pieces of food he found and he still hangs out with them alot of the time. I will often find him and the 2 pullets laying together in the coop or run. He has quite a bond with the 2.

 

[roxanne]

I agree. I am lucky to have a pretty calm flock. They accept newcomers, and they took to the baby chicks from my mother hen almost immediately.

I had a broody hen who was laying in one of the nesting boxes, so I let her have a couple chicks from TSC because her eggs did not make it to hatching. Everyone accepted the chicks and the mother protected them if there was any opposition.

I am quite lucky to have a very docile rooster though. He treated them like they were his own. He gave them pieces of food he found and he still hangs out with them alot of the time. I will often find him and the 2 pullets laying together in the coop or run. He has quite a bond with the 2.

My rooster is pretty docile as well … I am hoping that he will do well with the chicks. I guess my biggest concern will be how they maneuver their way up the tall ramp to the coop, but I guess they will learn like the others did

 

[GlicksChicks]

My rooster is pretty docile as well … I am hoping that he will do well with the chicks. I guess my biggest concern will be how they maneuver their way up the tall ramp to the coop, but I guess they will learn like the others did

You would ve amazed at how fast chicks learn! I have a brooder I made that has a ramp up to their brooder. Once they saw one learn how to use the ramp, they all started using it!