Moving chicks away from mama hen. Emotional support needed?

[Dragonwolfmastr]

Hi, I've got four chicks being raised by a Silkie. They seem to be attached to her and will cry out if they're not with her.

We are going to sell 2 of them to a fellow chicken keeper. All of their housing needs are provided, but I was wondering if they need some kind of emotional support since they're sad without their mom. Thanks!

 

[centrarchid]

The will be stressed regardless. The juveniles will adapt within a few hours. They are already past point where they would typically be on their own as mother would typically try to start another brood.

You could reduce the stress by separating them from mother a day or so before they go. That way they are dealing with only one stressor at a time. What I have been doing is penning older chicks / younger juveniles so their mother(s) can still be around on the outside within inches if need be. The hen(s) then start to drift away over the next couple days while young birds have less of an issue. Hens will come back typically to roost near broods for a couple nights at least. I was using the approach to also combine broods and get them to roost up closer to mom if not already roosting up.

 

[Dragonwolfmastr]

Thank you for the information! It's too late to separate them for days as we will be giving them away tonight, but I can separate them for five or so hours. I am glad to be learning about this as I go. Again, super helpful, thank you.