Mama chicken and baby chick integration

[Lurkeygirl2011]

I have a chicken with 8 babies, they several weeks old. She made her nest out in the grass and survived the incubation on her own. (Chickens free range) Now, I have a calf hutch I make sure she goes into each night, or I put it over top of her. She will not go into the house. She has always been kind of a loner, but she did live in the house for awhile. What will happen if I take them and put them into the house at night? I have 5 roosters and 25 hens. Will they likely get killed by the other chickens? I am concerned that the calf hutch does not provide enough protection and they are going to get eaten by something. It is kind of a toss up... any thoughts?

 

[centrarchid]

Chicks several weeks old are nearing end of maternal care. Since hen has been isolated from flock, whatever rank she had has been lost so she is likely to be target of aggression as much as chicks. Roosters should not be a major threat.

All said, chicks should do fine in respect to integration. My efforts with hens raising chicks generally do not involve isolating broody he from flock. To ensure chicks getting their share of starter feed a creep feeder is setup and to keep them safe at night I manage their roost site.