My very first official flock! (Maybe)

[Georgia Dream]

Hey everyone!

I am just starting my first official flock (I hope). I've had some backyard chickens for quite a while now. Over 3 years to be exact. And although it was a lot of fun, just letting the chickens roam around and come visit to get food when they wanted to (it was quite a free range experience) My 3 free rangers have now became one broody hen. (The other two passed away one was ill a couple years ago, and January my rooster was killed by an unknown predator.) Now that my last free range hen has just hatched out her first group of babies (the neighbor has a flock already but lets the roosters run free and wild so thats how i ended up with chicks) I have built a small "Quickie" coop for my hen and her hatched babies. And i am thinking of making them permanent coop birds. But i have no idea where to even start. The mother hen has been free her whole life, this is the first time she has been confined to a space. Am i doing the right thing by wanting to covert her and the chicks? Could this be done? I have many questions and am in need of help!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I would make a decent coop and run if you want them to survive. Everything likes to eat chicks. One year I had a crow snatching chicks that I let roam. Predators are everywhere.

 

[Georgia Dream]

Im planning on it, because i heard that soon the mother hen will want to stop taking care of the babies, and i plan on putting her alone in the big coop and then once the babies are able to defend themselves just in case their mom is a little hen pecky, i plan on moving them into the big coop all together.

 

[aart]

I'd keep the mama and her chicks together.
They may meld nicely into a flock'....tho mama might have a harder time weaning them without other birds around. Time will tell.

 

[IllinoisGuy]

Everything likes to eat chicks. One year I had a crow snatching chicks that I let roam. Predators are everywhere.

A crow?! Geez, wouldn't have seen that one coming.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

A crow?! Geez, wouldn't have seen that one coming.

A crow still comes around every April and May and hangs out in the area the chicks were snatched at. I swear it's that same crow.

 

[Georgia Dream]

I'd keep the mama and her chicks together.
They may meld nicely into a flock'....tho mama might have a harder time weaning them without other birds around. Time will tell.

I dont have other birds, except the rooster that is my neighbors' still comes around to visit her on the other side of the "quickie coop" i made. Hes more after free hand outs since he knows i will feed him. As for the momma, i just keep hearing these horror stories about when you keep the mom in with the babies after she feels "done" raising them that she turns on them.. it makes me scared so i thought moving her to the permanent coop im planning to build would give them time to grow up and be able to defend themselves. Not sure if this is a good idea or not. Or if she would even turn on them since these people that have mentioned these stories had a hen that was already in the pecking order of an established flock. Blackberry (momma) on the other hand is the only hen and shes now by herself with the babies, so maybe she wont?...maybe...