Is it cruel?

[Chickenaddict]

I have always left mama with the babies to save a buck on a heat lamp and ALOT of work but... I have 2 broodies right now who need seperate areas to raise their chicks so this time i am taking the babies away after they dry off and raising them all together.

 

[Ducklove334]

I refuse to take babies from any of our broody birds, our momma hen only hatched out ONE, and she and the baby are SO overly bonded to one another, she freaks out. she did the hard work for 21(plus 4 more!) days, she went on minimal food,water, and exercise, I just watched. so to me she deserves to do her job.same with your bird

it can take DAYS, or weeks for a momma to get over her babies, as it can with any mother animals, cats will call and call for their babies forweeks!.

thats my opinion, rgular handling, depending on the size of the clutch even with the momma the babies will be somewhat tame, and as they get older they will, just like their mother, will learn to like you.

 

[favoritekitty]

Im just going to try to be with our babies as often as possible when they hatch under my silkie girl. I dont have the heart to take the babies away. I have been told and read often that they do mourn their babies, sometimes noticeably for weeks at a time

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

When I hatched my first eggs, I took my broody's chicks indoors so I could take over and raise them. For the first day, she was looking all over for them, which made me a bit upset.

After that day I re-introduced her to the flock and she had her hands too full with trying to fit back in, she stopped her epic chick-search. I did feel bad, however we had to put her back with the others and I wanted the chicks to people assosiated with people. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a problem.

 

[gritsar]

I haven't had a broody hen yet, I WISH I DID! However I've been reading anything and everything I can on broodies.
Two recent articles I read echoed each other on one point. I'll quote one article here: "Not only does a good mother hen do a better job of warming her chicks just when needed, and finding superior natural foods for them, but in more subtle ways as well she imparts to them a deeper "chicken wisdom" which results in adults who are smarter, happier, and healthier than brooder-raised birds."*
*Article in April/May issue of Backyard Poultry magazine, entitled Working with Broody Hens in the Homestead Flock by Harvey Ussery
I free-range my flock. Any chicks that result from my flock will also be free-ranged. Given this, I think it's much more important for my chicks to have chicken smarts than it is to be people-oriented. I'll get to know them as they grow.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[cgmccary]

I had a hen look for her chicks for weeks after a opossum got in and killed them at night.

Also, on another occasion, it was real cold outside on the morning one of my hens hatched out a clutch (so I panicked and brought the chicks indoors). The hen looked for her chicks all day so I gave them back that evening; the hen looked relieved and I noticed she stooped down at each chick talking to them [as if to be saying, "you remember me from this morning, I am your mama."].

I let the mama hen raise them (& MUCH LESS WORK FOR ME!) and the chicks end up just as tame & less likely, if they are roosters of being aggressive. I have also noticed they are more savvy and smarter if hen raised (i.e. they know about predators and rain & what to eat and how to hunt for food).

IMHO, it is "cruel" to remove them. If some of you have hens that forget in minutes or hours, that IS NOT my experience.

 

[klutzyruth]

Even if you remove the babies, that doesn't guarantee that they will be friendly.
I have had my hands on my 7 - 3 week old chicks - daily and they still spazz out. I offer treats ( bugs) to them and am super nice to the rotten little buggars. And still I'm the evil step mom.

 

[awsomblossom]

To calm our indoor/hand raised chicks we have always layed them on their backs in the palm of our hands and rubbed their bellys. They stop screaming and fall asleep. We did this with our Brahmas and we can do it to them today even as big as they are (what a sight!).