Momma hen seems to have abandoned her 3 week old chicks! Help!

[Skyleen13]

I have a 1year old black australorp hen we call Oreo. This year she went broody & we let her hatch out some babies. She’s been doing great until tonight. She decided to perch up on the roosting bars instead of snuggling down with her 3 week old chicks like she’s done every night till now. Unfortunately, none of the chicks could fly up to the bar to nest with her. This wasn’t how she was a few hours ago. She was nested down with them but it wasn’t full dark yet. I went out to do my final check for the night & realized that momma wasn’t with her chicks. Instead they were snuggled under 4 of my pullets who nested down low. All where cold. When we removed momma from her perch & tried to give her back her chicks she wasn’t even remotely interested in them. She immediately flew back up to her perch. I made the decision to save the chicks & put them into our brooder with the heat lamp. They seem fine now but definitely not very happy. They keep crying out for momma. My question is has momma said she’s done & won’t care for the chicks anymore or is there a chance that if we take them back out to the coop 1st thing in the morning momma will take them back? Should I risk returning them to her?

 

[Skyleen13]

If the other birds will allow them to snuggle, I'd keep them all together. The cooler nights will kick in the growing of the feathers and I'd increase the protein by adding Mealworms or other bugs. I'm of the belief the strong will survive. I try and not remove unless the birds are severely being picked on or sick. Otherwise removing them creates more problems.

Thank you. They’ve stayed with the flock & are doing just fine. My rooster, their daddy protects them. They snuggle with him every night. Their now 6 weeks old & doing great.

 

[TheAlrightyGina]

I have a 1year old black australorp hen we call Oreo. This year she went broody & we let her hatch out some babies. She’s been doing great until tonight. She decided to perch up on the roosting bars instead of snuggling down with her 3 week old chicks like she’s done every night till now. Unfortunately, none of the chicks could fly up to the bar to nest with her. This wasn’t how she was a few hours ago. She was nested down with them but it wasn’t full dark yet. I went out to do my final check for the night & realized that momma wasn’t with her chicks. Instead they were snuggled under 4 of my pullets who nested down low. All where cold. When we removed momma from her perch & tried to give her back her chicks she wasn’t even remotely interested in them. She immediately flew back up to her perch. I made the decision to save the chicks & put them into our brooder with the heat lamp. They seem fine now but definitely not very happy. They keep crying out for momma. My question is has momma said she’s done & won’t care for the chicks anymore or is there a chance that if we take them back out to the coop 1st thing in the morning momma will take them back? Should I risk returning them to her?

I'd try putting the broody and her brood into a separate area where there isn't a roost and see how it goes. It sounds like this is her first brood and their behavior can be odd in that case.

 

[sourland]

She's started the weaning process. What sort of evening temperatures are you having?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Sounds like she's either weaning them or training them to roost. How high up are the roosts? 3 week olds can make it up if it's not too high, like 2' or so.

 

[Skyleen13]

Sounds like she's either weaning them or training them to roost. How high up are the roosts? 3 week olds can make it up if it's not too high, like 2' or so.

It’s about 3-4 feet off the ground.

 

[Skyleen13]

Sounds like she's either weaning them or training them to roost. How high up are the roosts? 3 week olds can make it up if it's not too high, like 2' or so.

Thing is is that I’ve got 2 roosting bars that are lower down that the babies can reach but momma is a top hen so she’s always on the highest bar. The lowest bar is only 1 foot off the ground. I’ve got a couple juveniles & my rooster that don’t use the bars. Instead they either use the ledges infront of the nesting boxes or the floor to sleep. My rooster sleeps on the ground right in front of the coop door. 3 of the 5 babies where actually under him last night staying warm. He’s a good daddy.

 

[BirdLover2005]

She's started the weaning process. What sort of evening temperatures are you having?

Yeah I agree she is starting to wean them

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thing is is that I’ve got 2 roosting bars that are lower down that the babies can reach but momma is a top hen so she’s always on the highest bar. The lowest bar is only 1 foot off the ground. I’ve got a couple juveniles & my rooster that don’t use the bars. Instead they either use the ledges infront of the nesting boxes or the floor to sleep. My rooster sleeps on the ground right in front of the coop door. 3 of the 5 babies where actually under him last night staying warm. He’s a good daddy.

Then should I bring them in at night to keep them warm & then back out with all the others 1st thing in the mornings?

If the rooster is willing to let them snuggle beside him, they should stay warm enough, so no need for you to remove them.

Conversely I would consider manually moving mama down to a lower bar once it's dark, and then moving the chicks up there with her, so they can warm themselves up next to her. She may or may not stay, but if she does, it'd keep the chicks warm and also start teaching them that roost = bedtime. In a perfect universe she would be encouraging them to roost with her first before completely weaning them off.

 

[bhaugh]

If the other birds will allow them to snuggle, I'd keep them all together. The cooler nights will kick in the growing of the feathers and I'd increase the protein by adding Mealworms or other bugs. I'm of the belief the strong will survive. I try and not remove unless the birds are severely being picked on or sick. Otherwise removing them creates more problems.