Mother hen laying??

[ashlierami]

I have a partridge silkie currently with a 4 week old chick. Today the mother disappeared and I found her chick chirping for her around the yard. I thought maybe the mother is ready to leave the chick and has went with the floor to the barn. About an 2 hours passed and I went to check the nests for eggs and found the mother hen coming off the nest. She laid an egg and was hunting for her chick. I thought mother hens don't lay while they are with the chicks. The hen is still protecting and finding food for the chick and everything seems the same. She isn't bullying the chick or trying to get away. They are currently together in the dust bath as if she never left her chick today. Is this normal for the hen to be laying and still raising her baby? I've read many threads and posts about how hens don't resume laying until after they have let go of their chicks.

 

[toomuch]

Its not normal. I've had many mother hen and they lay again after they leave their chicks , but I did have one hen that kept her chick till they were 4 months old and still laid eggs. The best thing to do is separate the mother and the chick. If the mother leaves the chick unattended the chick is prone to predators.

 

[Kathryn173]

Its perfectly normal...they are all different...I had one last year that was laying at 3 weeks after hatching chicks, others can take a few months...all depends on the hen

 

[ashlierami]

Does her laying mean she will be leaving her chick for good soon?

 

[Kathryn173]

Not necessarily...they are all different when they want to leave their chicks, if at all...her laying eggs again shouldn't affect her brooding chicks she already has...I have had hen before that have been laying again for months with a 6 or 7 month old chick still following them around

 

[Kathryn173]

Also have had hens that leave their chicks at 4-5 weeks and dont lay for a long time after that

 

[ashlierami]

Okay that's a peace of mind. I know she will go on her own one day but she's the only chick I have . All my other chickens are adults or teens and she would be lonely. I hope her mom decides to stick around with her until she's at least 6 weeks. We still have some cold weather coming later on.

 

[ashlierami]

Also have had hens that leave their chicks at 4-5 weeks and dont lay for a long time after that

This is all new to me. I've never had a mother hen. I guess this is really based on the hen herself and not always what statistics and guidelines say in regards to what age they leave their chicks and so forth.

 

[Ridgerunner]

This is all new to me. I've never had a mother hen. I guess this is really based on the hen herself and not always what statistics and guidelines say in regards to what age they leave their chicks and so forth.

Yes they are all individuals. I had a hen do that once. She started laying at 2-1/2 weeks after hatch. I saw the chicks running around and chirping, thought something had grabbed the mother. Nope, she was laying an egg. She did wean her chicks a few days later so keep an eye on the lone chick but as others said that doesn't mean a lot concerning what yours will do.

 

[ashlierami]

Yes they are all individuals. I had a hen do that once. She started laying at 2-1/2 weeks after hatch. I saw the chicks running around and chirping, thought something had grabbed the mother. Nope, she was laying an egg. She did wean her chicks a few days later so keep an eye on the lone chick but as others said that doesn't mean a lot concerning what yours will do.

Thank you so much for your advice! It's comforting to know someone other than me has experienced this! I will keep an eye on them and as of right now mama is still with the chick and she was with her the rest of today.