Hello--
First off, I just want to say I really appreciate this site. Everything I've learned about raising our chickens I have read in books or read here! Thanks.
I have a Blue Maran hen who is hatching as I write this. She had one chick yesterday afternoon and two last night; she's still sitting on 4 eggs and won't leave them--so we're waiting. She successfully hatched four chicks this past summer and she's had absolutely no problems.
The difference this time is that in August when she and another Maran were raising chicks, we did have them separated from the flock, but not completely. We have one rooster (now we have two--the first one's son as well) and 12 hens. They free range, but go into the barn in their coop to roost at night. However, we're in Vermont, so there are many days that they choose not to go outside. So, in August, we had Skye and Fiona in an outside coop with outside runs separated from each other, but next to each other. Every day the rooster would come down and talk to the hens and help feed the chicks. The hens all came down as well--so throughout the raising, all of the hens and rooster were aware of the baby chicks. When the chicks were bigger--I'm thinking around 12 weeks, we reintegrated them back into the flock and just put them back in the barn with the rest of the flock. We didn't do anything special. The mamas continued to "train" their chicks until they taught them to fly up to the roosting bar---and then we saw the whole "I'm your mother, but leave me alone thing" going on. The chicks then were old enough, apparently, to take care of themselves and they were part of the flock. No problems.
However, when Skye went broody again, it was March. We decided to let her keep eggs because spring was coming and we had kept the new rooster and wanted to have more hens so there wouldn't be any fights with his dad---so far, he respects Dad and stays aways from his hens--only mating with the ones he was born with. So, then, we had a blizzard and really cold temperatures and didn't want to leave Skye in the barn. She came inside the house and sat on her eggs inside a dog kennel--very happy and no problems. She even lets the cats and dogs come and look at her. We take her outside once a day for her horrendous poop.
So, okay--she started hatching last night. It snowed again last night. We were planning on keeping she and the babies in the house (in a bigger area, of course) until it is warmer. But, now---I just want to know if we can put her and the chicks in the coop with the rest of the flock? Could we put her dog kennel (which is her nest) with her chicks in the coop? I have read conflicting things about putting very small babies with the rest of the flock--some say it's fine, some not. Please help me if you're an experienced chick raiser and let me know what you suggest. As I said, in the summer, having the hens and rooster all see the mothers and chicks through the runs outside seemed to work with no problem at all, but we didn't put them in the coop until they were about 12 weeks. I don't think we can keep them in the house that long.
Thanks in advance for your help. Posting a picture of the first chick hatched last night and our rooster's son who hatched on August 28, 2013.
First off, I just want to say I really appreciate this site. Everything I've learned about raising our chickens I have read in books or read here! Thanks.
I have a Blue Maran hen who is hatching as I write this. She had one chick yesterday afternoon and two last night; she's still sitting on 4 eggs and won't leave them--so we're waiting. She successfully hatched four chicks this past summer and she's had absolutely no problems.
The difference this time is that in August when she and another Maran were raising chicks, we did have them separated from the flock, but not completely. We have one rooster (now we have two--the first one's son as well) and 12 hens. They free range, but go into the barn in their coop to roost at night. However, we're in Vermont, so there are many days that they choose not to go outside. So, in August, we had Skye and Fiona in an outside coop with outside runs separated from each other, but next to each other. Every day the rooster would come down and talk to the hens and help feed the chicks. The hens all came down as well--so throughout the raising, all of the hens and rooster were aware of the baby chicks. When the chicks were bigger--I'm thinking around 12 weeks, we reintegrated them back into the flock and just put them back in the barn with the rest of the flock. We didn't do anything special. The mamas continued to "train" their chicks until they taught them to fly up to the roosting bar---and then we saw the whole "I'm your mother, but leave me alone thing" going on. The chicks then were old enough, apparently, to take care of themselves and they were part of the flock. No problems.
However, when Skye went broody again, it was March. We decided to let her keep eggs because spring was coming and we had kept the new rooster and wanted to have more hens so there wouldn't be any fights with his dad---so far, he respects Dad and stays aways from his hens--only mating with the ones he was born with. So, then, we had a blizzard and really cold temperatures and didn't want to leave Skye in the barn. She came inside the house and sat on her eggs inside a dog kennel--very happy and no problems. She even lets the cats and dogs come and look at her. We take her outside once a day for her horrendous poop.
So, okay--she started hatching last night. It snowed again last night. We were planning on keeping she and the babies in the house (in a bigger area, of course) until it is warmer. But, now---I just want to know if we can put her and the chicks in the coop with the rest of the flock? Could we put her dog kennel (which is her nest) with her chicks in the coop? I have read conflicting things about putting very small babies with the rest of the flock--some say it's fine, some not. Please help me if you're an experienced chick raiser and let me know what you suggest. As I said, in the summer, having the hens and rooster all see the mothers and chicks through the runs outside seemed to work with no problem at all, but we didn't put them in the coop until they were about 12 weeks. I don't think we can keep them in the house that long.
Thanks in advance for your help. Posting a picture of the first chick hatched last night and our rooster's son who hatched on August 28, 2013.
