I have a mother hen who hatched out some chicks about 8 weeks ago. They are in their own enclosure with a small coop that's made from an old shipping crate. My husband thinks they need to be reintroduced back into the main flock ( around 25 hens and a rooster ) because the main flock has a large coop and he thinks they will stay warmer if back in with them. I'm not sure they are old enough to handle any attacks from my other chickens should an issue arise.
Thoughts and suggestions? Should we leave them? Will they be ok in this cold weather by themselves as far as momma being able to provide enough body heat for her and chicks?
It would have been great if you posted this when the chicks first hatched.
The mother will protect the chicks and they integrate much better and faster into the flock if you allow her to do this.
This broody had her chicks up on the roost when they were 2 weeks old. I had to put them back in the built-in brooder because Mom wouldn't allow any of the spring pullets anywhere near her and there wasn't enough roost space for that. But by 3 weeks she allowed the hens and rooster close enough that I let them stay.
If I were you, I'd let them out and just supervise. Your chicks are old enough that I'm surprised your broody hasn't weened them yet. When the broody does, she'll rather aggressively drive the chicks away from her. It's perfectly normal. Your chicks do not need her any longer. They are fully feathered and ready to be on their own.
The chicks will become a sub-flock and stick together. They will roost last and come off the roost first to avoid getting pummeled. They will eat last. Until they really grow up, plan to go out when it is completely dark to remove the chicks from the nest boxes as that is where they like to hide to avoid getting pecked. Once it's full on dark, it is easy to pluck them out of the boxes and place them on the roost. It will be too dark for adjacent adults to peck them so they will be fine until morning.
They will need places to hide away from the rest of the flock in the run. Lots of perches in the run will help them get out of the way.
If you don't have a fully secure run that is open to the coop 24/7, you will want to get out to the coop early enough to get the door open and allow the birds out before the chicks get tuned up for being "too close" to someone.
