Mother Hen Causing Problems?

[Tiny Turtle]

I have this mother hen who has 2 chicks with her currently. I am afraid to put her in with the other big chickens in fear that they will kill her chicks one way or another, so in the meantime I have her and her chicks put into a pen with my other 6 chicks (about 8 weeks old), they all get locked up together, not sure if that's a good idea (locking the 8 week old chicks up with the mother hen and chicks) but just this morning we found one of the 8 week old chicks with a big strip of feathers missing from her neck. I'm pretty sure it was the mother hen who caused the injury, but what do I do??

 

[Eggcessive]

Take the broody hen and her chicks, and place them in your coop or run with the other chickens. Put food and water in with them. After a couple of days, open the door, and she will take them out and in when she wants to. She should protect them from the others, and then they will all be familiar enough with the chicks that when she abandons them in a few weeks, they will be part of the flock. I would also put your pen of other chicks inside your coop or run until they are similar in size to the older hens. It is alsways best to let the broody raise her chicks in with the other chickens, but I keep them in a crate for several days, until I'm sure the broody is a good mother. Good luck.

 

[Tiny Turtle]

Well, we have our 8 week old chicks separated from our older chickens until they are similar sizes. But I am scared to put our mother hen with her chicks (they are 4-5 days old) in with the older chickens area. I'm sure she would protect them and stuff, yeah. But I fear something may happen to them. And I feed my older chickens food that the younger ones can't digest just yet from what I know and have experienced. If I move the mother hen in with the others I have no way of clearing out the other food.

 

[Eggcessive]

Most people switch to Flock Raiser or an all flock feed which is safe for all ages, and just put plenty of crushed oyster shell out in a bowl for the layers to take as needed. Believe me, it is so much easier to let the broody raise them with the rest of the flock. Very rarely have I ever had one hurt, and that only happened in the first day or so before I kept them in a crate inside the coop. When I let them hatch in a nest box, I had one get out and was injured. I also had one broody who abandoned her chicks after 2 weeks, and since the chicks were accepted by the others already, they just hung together to sleep to keep warm, and already knew how to forage for food and water. They all 6 made it well.Everyone's experience is different, but I always keep my broodies and chicks in with the whole flock. Even the meekist little bantam hen will kick anyones' rearend if they come near her babies. If she doesn't, I take the chicks away, and she doesn't hatch eggs again.

 

[Tiny Turtle]

I think I'll wait till the other chickens have eaten the food in the area before I let the tiny chicks roam free. Then I will need to take care of the tall grass in the area. I don't have the crushed up oyster shells, but I have tiny rock chick grit. I would love to have the mother roam with the others but I'm too anxious about the feed that is currently out there and all the tall grass. But we will see.