Newly Hatched and Integrating new (purchased) chicks to my flock

[Ridgerunner]

OKCAT where are you located? What kind of weather are you expecting over the next week? I don't mean "cool" or "warm", I mean what are your forecast temperatures, especially lows. There are a lot of places in the world right now that 4 week olds will do fine outside without heat. I had a broody hen wean her chicks at three weeks of age over a month ago, some overnight lows were in the 40's Fahrenheit. Age is not the only determining factor as important as it is. How well they have feathered out, how well the coop protects them from wind and rain, and how well they are acclimated (exposed to cooler temps) all factor in, but 4-week-olds are capable of doing quite well.

The chick is only a couple of days old. That broody hen should be very protective. When dealing with living animals you can't know for sure what one will do, but hens have been raising chicks with the flock for thousands of years. I let my hens raise their chicks with the flock and almost never have issues from that.

Can something go wrong if you let her and her chick mingle with the flock? Yes it is possible. Can something go wrong if you keep her and the chick isolated form the flock? Yes, it's possible. I've had more problems when I try to isolate them than when I let the hen raise them with the flock. If it were me that hen would be raising her chick with the flock.

I would not put the RIR's in with the hen and chick. In a confined space that could be dangerous to the RIR's.

 

[MillersFarm]

I had recently had my first broody hen (Jersey Giant) as well, Hatch 16/16 eggs,

unfortunately one died from a clogged vent and the other two failed to get under their mom for the night, But the other 13 are thriving, there only three weeks old and i just put them in with the flock, Some of the older hens will give them a few pecks to let them know whos boss, But really they all get along and eat/drink together,

Of corse Moma chases most of the older chickens away but they all seem to get along, If you had given the RIRs to the moma when they were younger you really wouldnt have to worry about much,
I wouldnt be the RIRs in with the mother, She would just beat them up,

 

[OKCAT]

OKCAT where are you located? What kind of weather are you expecting over the next week? I don't mean "cool" or "warm", I mean what are your forecast temperatures, especially lows. There are a lot of places in the world right now that 4 week olds will do fine outside without heat. I had a broody hen wean her chicks at three weeks of age over a month ago, some overnight lows were in the 40's Fahrenheit. Age is not the only determining factor as important as it is. How well they have feathered out, how well the coop protects them from wind and rain, and how well they are acclimated (exposed to cooler temps) all factor in, but 4-week-olds are capable of doing quite well.

The chick is only a couple of days old. That broody hen should be very protective. When dealing with living animals you can't know for sure what one will do, but hens have been.

raising chicks with the flock for thousands of years. I let my hens raise their chicks with the flock and almost never have issues from that.

Can something go wrong if you let her and her chick mingle with the flock? Yes it is possible. Can something go wrong if you keep her and the chick isolated form the flock? Yes, it's possible. I've had more problems when I try to isolate them than when I let the hen raise them with the flock. If it were me that hen would be raising her chick with the flock.

I would not put the RIR's in with the hen and chick. In a confined space that could be dangerous to the RIR's.

We're in Oklahoma, for the next week the coolest it's supposed to get is 62. We don't have heat on them right now because the highs during the day are in the 80s - 90s and they're in the garage so it stays warm even over night. The coop is well built (we built it ourselves) and will protect them from the wind and rain.

They are almost fully feathered and beginning to attempt flight, which is another reason I'd like to get them out of the brooder and in to the coop!

You expressed my feelings exactly by saying the hen should be raising her chick with the flock! I know the RIRs would be in danger if they were with the flock right now and would also not be totally safe with Momma, but (very protective) Momma will protect her baby from the flock until it can protect itself! I guess I just needed someone with more experience to tell me my instincts were correct!

The next broody we have I intend to leave with the flock for the whole process, I think they'll work out the nesting box issue on their own eventually and we won't have the issue of trying to reintegrate momma and baby back in to the flock!

Thank you for your response!

 

[OKCAT]

I had recently had my first broody hen (Jersey Giant) as well, Hatch 16/16 eggs,

unfortunately one died from a clogged vent and the other two failed to get under their mom for the night, But the other 13 are thriving, there only three weeks old and i just put them in with the flock, Some of the older hens will give them a few pecks to let them know whos boss, But really they all get along and eat/drink together,

Of corse Moma chases most of the older chickens away but they all seem to get along, If you had given the RIRs to the moma when they were younger you really wouldnt have to worry about much,
I wouldnt be the RIRs in with the mother, She would just beat them up,

This is what I was thinking too, Momma puffs up and "growls" at us if we even open the nesting box to peek in at her so I'm sure she'll protect from the other hens and (hopefully) the jerk of a rooster! lol I think we'll move them over this weekend while we're around to kind of keep an eye on them in case there are problems, and keep our fingers crossed it all works out! I've already decided the next broody will stay with the flock.

I thought about putting the RIRs in with the broody when we first got them but I was afraid it would disrupt her sitting and she wouldn't end up hatching the egg. I do tend to overthink/ over worry some times!!

Thanks for your response!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Don't be shocked if the rooster is protective of the chick. He might even help Mama raise it, some roosters do. I just don't worry about a dominant rooster hurting chicks. The other hens pose some risks but Mama normally takes care of that. The most aggressive are often immature cockerels in the flock, but Mama usually scares them to death. They quickly learn they will get hurt if they threaten her babies.

 

[OKCAT]

I'm hoping he'll help Her! He's the only rooster we have right now (to early to tell the sex of the new baby!) So it's just the hens I'm worried about. I'm going to trust momma to protect her little one!

 

[MillersFarm]

I wouldn't trust the rooster to much, we had a Wyandotte roo who was one of our best roosters, But when we tried introducing a couple of four week old chicks to him he wouldn't stop beating up on them, We later culled him and now we only have one Rooster, Our jersey giant. Hes prety nice. just a little big is all,
And also i had a friend hatching duck eggs, Two of them turned out to be chicken eggs and so they gave them to us after the first couple of hours it hatched, We put them under our broody who hadnt hatched her eggs yet and excepted them, I was worried she would leave the eggs since they werent do for another week, But she kept sitting on them until they hatched! So next time if it ever happens again, Dont be afraid. And if you still are, sneaking them under the broody hen at night would be best so the hen would just think they hatched over night

 

[aart]

Here's how I integrate my chicks at about 4 weeks old.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old.72603/

 

[OKCAT]

Got Mama and Peep moved over and introduced to the flock. So far she's kicked everyone's butt at least once (including the rooster lol) and I'm not so worried that she won't be able to protect baby. I am a little worried that she's not letting them in to the coop to lay but I trust they'll work that out eventually. I've decided a mama bear has nothing on a mother hen!

Also got the RIRs moved to the other part of the coop. With no mama to protect them I don't think they're ready for the outside yet, but at least they have more room to move than they did in the brooder!

Thank you all for your advice and words of encouragement! It made me feel better about how I was handling this situation!