New babies, including an orphan of sorts

[stavrost]

Some of the earlier posts are similar, but mine may be different. We had a hen hatch two eggs, and she has been in a confined area with her two hatchlings. However, we also had one egg hatched about a week later in an incubator. A couple of weeks ago, I put the new incubator hatchling in with the other two and their mama. My question is, we lock them up in a little hutch every night that’s in a 6 x 6 enclosed area. And we don’t let them out of the hutch during the day, although we open it to the air. I would like to know when it’s safe to let them into the larger cage area that the hutch is in. The newest one got feathers about five or six days ago. But she still has some down.

 

[DobieLover]

I would like to know when it’s safe to let them into the larger cage area that the hutch is in.

The next morning. The mother keeps the chicks warm. They do not need to be locked up. The mother will take care of them. And she should have full access to the flock. They should not be kept isolated from the rest of the flock as it will be extremely difficult to integrate the youngsters without their mother.

 

[stavrost]

Thank you