How long for a hen to raise chicks?

[tellynpeep]

The eggs under my broodie finally hatched 2 days ago. She is walking around the yard, teaching them the finer points of being a chicken, and they are all unbelieveably cute together.
How long will she stay with them, and how long till she goes back to being one of the girls and laying eggs again??

 

[DouglasPeeps]

Great question. I have chicks due to hatch next week that are under a broody. I definitely want her to raise them. But I am wondering the same thing...

I will watch this thread to see what answers you get.

 

[tellynpeep]

Does anyone know this?

 

[Schultz]

I think it's up to the hen, we had a broody that kept her chicks until about 2 1/2 months old, clearly way too long but she finally booted them out of the nest and is back to laying. That's just my experience though

 

[computer_chicken]

They will be with the mom hen about 6 weeks in my experience. Then the chicks will be able to maneuver themselves all around the coup so my dividing fence wall could not stop them from mingling with the adults. It helps to have a high roost for them cause the adults tended to annoy them. Actually I hand placed them up high and they got the idea really quickly.

 

[Portia]

It depends totally on the hen. I've had hens abandon their chicks after 1.5 weeks, and others hang with them until they are 6-8 weeks. Right now I have 3 broodies and 10 chicks, we will see how long each of these ladies decides they are interested in being a mama. I think this is the 7th or 8th time I've had a hen hatch out chicks.

Some of the hens start laying before they are done with the chicks, within a few weeks of hatch. Others wait until they fledge the chicks before laying again. It is very individual with each hen, regardless of breed.

 

[tellynpeep]

Thanks!

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Mine have always stayed with the chicks til they start laying eggs again and then they abandon the chicks and go back to the henhouse.

 

[cwhit590]

my broody just abandoned her chicks tonight!

the chicks are almost 7 weeks old, and she just started laying eggs a few days ago.

 

[rebecca10782]

Well, puppies and kittens shouldn't leave their mother before 12 weeks. I would think that nature would not intend for the mother to leave her chicks before they are fully feathered or they would freeze. Usually mama will let their young now when they are not welcome anymore

But you can't trust every mother. Some will abandon them after they are born

But with my experience, having a mother that raises kittens, they never leave before 12 weeks. Sometimes the kittens will be independent enough to leave at 10-11 weeks, but not very often. It is so sad how mama will start kicking them in the head as they nurse to let them know that they are getting to the point of independence