Keeping broody and her chicks with the flock this time? Seeking advice...

[olivigus]

My very reliable broody is one week away from getting her foster chicks. The past two times Spring has raised chicks, I've moved mama and babies into my "mini-coop' which has a separate fenced area in the bigger yard the day after I've slipped the day-old babies under her at night, once I know she's accepted them. They have that space for themselves until mama wants to go back to the flock, and then the babies stay there till ready to integrate (which I mainly base on when they can start on the layer feed everyone else eats.) This year is different because my mini-coop is already occupied by one of my oldest hens who suddenly became the flock pariah about a year ago. (I had to separate her or the gang who had decided she was chicken non gratia would have seriously injured her.) She lives there with Bella, one of my younger hens, who is very gentle, and Tiki, another older hen who started having trouble getting up the steeper ramp in the main coop. All three of them get along just fine and Happy (the bullying victim) is happy and healthy again. I'm really torn about how to proceed with Spring and her new babies. Should I put them in the mini-coop with the three other hens and see how it goes? Or should I try letting Spring and the babies stay with the big flock this time (14 other hens)? Maybe give them a separate dog-crate cage in the bigger coop for the first few days, and then let Spring take them outside when ready? I'm just not sure how to handle the different feed needs with that integrated approach--the separate pen makes separate diets much easier. I'd appreciate any opinions/advice folks might have. Thanks.

 

[MLG1900]

If you can section off a corner in the big coop for mama and her babies for a few days that would be best. Last year that is what I did. I stapled the black vinyl fencing to some moveable wood and secured to the coop wall. That way I could still move the fence to get to the rest of the coop if needed but mom was separate with food and water for her and the babies. After about a week, I left the front door open and she took them outside with her, then when she went in for the night, she picked out a different safe spot to nest for the night.

 

[olivigus]

@MLG1900 That could work. Did you have everyone on the same feed after that first week?

 

[Folly's place]

I keep my broody hen and her eggs separated from the flock by fencing, or she's in a big dog crate, until the babies are about one week old. Then they can go out with the flock, and mama usually brings them back to their same space at night for a while.
One year my broody hen was low in the pecking order, so she and her chicks were separated for two weeks, because she needed that extra time, and they needed to be bigger, and able to stick with her better.
I feed everyone an all flock feed all year, with separate oyster shell, so there's never an issue having two feeds.
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know how big your coop is or how much room you have outside. That would factor into this a bit.

I let my broody hens hatch and raise the chicks with the flock. Often they sleep in the main coop at night. When the main coop is really crowded I have a shelter in the run that I put the hen and chicks in for a couple of days and nights, then open it up and let her raise them with the flock. Like Mary's, my broody hens take them back to that shelter at night to sleep so I can lock them up predator safe.

Two different things can happen. When the broody hen is ready, usually around 4 weeks but that varies, she takes them it the main coop and sleeps with them on the roosts. By that time I've usually moved some older cockerels from the coop to the freezer so there is more room. Or when she is ready to wean them she moves to the coop and leaves them on their own in that shelter. I get to decide when to move them to sleep in the main coop, usually around 12 weeks old.

I like the idea of the dog crate in the main coop. You can try moving her and her eggs in there so she hatches in there or wait until she hatches and then move them. The main reason for that is that I think it will give you some confidence, but I also don't know what your coop or run look like. And the chicks can learn to eat and drink without competition from the other hens. After you are confident that the hen and chicks are going to be OK I'd remove that crate and let her find a spot on the floor for her chicks to sleep at night. At that point I would consider that crate a tripping hazard when I'm walking around in the coop.

If the chicks can get somewhere Mama cannot protect them they are in danger from the other hens. If that dog crate has openings big enough that the chicks can get through use netting or wire mesh so they can't get out.

I also feed like Mary. Since I almost always have juveniles in the flock that should not eat Layer I feed a low-calcium feed, Starter or Grower depending on the age of the chicks, to all of them with oyster shell on the side. The hens that need the calcium for their egg shells seem to know it and the rest don't eat enough oyster shell to harm themselves.

 

[olivigus]

Thanks! The chicken side of my coop is about 5 x 8 and 7 tall. The chickens really only go in there to roost and to lay. The rest of the day they have a very large yard that's about 30 x 30 to run around in. I do have an adapted rabbit hutch that I use for my medical coop. Now I'm thinking I could move that into the big yard and fence off an area around it for mama and babies for a few days, (it can be locked up safe at night) then open it up so she has access to the full yard and see how it goes. I do like the idea of letting them mix with the flock early on.