Mama hen & baby chick

[CharlyNI]

Should and could I chance my mama hen and chick out with the rest of my girls, the chick is now 5 weeks!! Olive is very protective of her baby and I think she's desperate to get out and mingle with the other girls?????

 

[theoldchick]

At five weeks the chick should be able to get out trouble if there is adequate space. Momma hen may or may not protect the chick. However, be prepared to see some pretty intense conflict as the pecking order is decided.


Trouble brewing here. Note the dominant hen moving in to break up the fight.

 

[yyz0yyz0]

at about 4wks old I took down the divider fence between the main section of the run and the partitioned area for the mom and her chick. I did this because the chick could fit through the fence anyway and the momma started flying over it to be with the chick. So that settled it for me.

There have been some skirmish's and some fighting but the momma has prevailed and now the chick(6wks) seems to be blending in with the adults without much problem

 

[Mountain Peeps]

If mama is protective of her chick then it would be fine to let them be with the other girls. Make sure there are hideaways though.

 

[CharlyNI]

Thanks everyone for your help... I let Olive and baby out!! She's has been picked on by my exbatts