Is it okay to bring our two day old chicks (hatched by broody hen) inside to hold them?

[1chickens1]

2 days ago our broody hen hatched five chicks. We currently have the broody hen with her five chicks in a crate inside of our chicken coop. We wanted to start holding the chicks to get them more used to us. Is it okay to bring the five chicks in our house and hold them all or would we need to bring the mom inside as well? Or should we not even be handling the chicks?

 

[azygous]

Include the broody hen when you handle the chicks, and she will be a lot more calm about the activity. Remove her chicks from her, and she will be very upset, and it will work against you, because the chicks will be less likely to trust you.

I have a single broody-raised chick that is three weeks old. I have been handling this chick from the beginning, but I do not separate her from her broody mama while I do it. The result is that the chick is tame and calm, and the broody is also calm while I do it. I even hold the broody in my lap while the chick is on her mama's back. This calms both, and they both seem to enjoy being held.

If you absolutely must bring the chicks inside your house, try to figure a way to bring the broody in with them so the chicks won't be out of her sight.

 

[1chickens1]

 

[1chickens1]

Ok. Thank you so much!
I was also wondering if you know how long we have to be handling the chicks with our broody hen. Like do u think in a few weeks they'll be mature enough to be held without there mom or do we have to hold them together until our broody hen abandons them?

And i've also been hearing stuff that when you hold the chicks and then give them back to the momma hen that she will abandon them because the chick will then have my sent on it...do u think thats a problem...?

 

[azygous]

I would keep the broody in the loop when handling the chicks until the chicks are independent and the broody goes back to normal, hormones abating. You will know when it happens. She will act like she couldn't care less about them.

As for what you heard about chicks being abandoned due to your scent being on them - total and complete bunk. Chickens do not operate as mammals do with highly developed olfactory senses. Smell plays such a small part in chickens' lives to be practically non-existent. Look at your nose. Look at your dog's nose. Do you see anything of that size on a chicken? No. There's nothing on a chicken to send complex information to their brains, and their brains aren't even big enough to handle the information even if they had a nose as large as yours.

 

[3riverschick]

2 days ago our broody hen hatched five chicks. We currently have the broody hen with her five chicks in a crate inside of our chicken coop. We wanted to start holding the chicks to get them more used to us. Is it okay to bring the five chicks in our house and hold them all or would we need to bring the mom inside as well? Or should we not even be handling the chicks?

They are delicate very tiny babies. During this first week their body systems are maturing at a tremendous rate. Do not agitate or stress the chicks during this time. Leave them with mama hen. You are doing them a disservice by stressing mama hen and the chicks just because you want to cuddle them. Do not pick them up during this time unless you are checking their welfare for some reason.
Best,
Karen

 

[aart]

Do you handle the broody and your other chickens?
Are they used to you being in their coop and run?
If so, then mama should not be too concerned when you handle her chicks.

But I agree, give them a week before handling too much, and any handling should be done in the presence of mama.
Chicks are not toys to be taken out to play with.