Not sure what to do with Mum and new babies ?

[MiddySpeckles]

Hi everyone ! I just registered to this site to get a little bit of help with my beautiful chickens and new baby chicks.
I have 2 beautiful girls that are nearlly 1 year old. I bought some Silky eggs, and two of them I had to hatch under a lamp which
was very successful My problem is the 2 that hatched under their adopted mother I dont know what to do with now ??

They are in a box in their coop. Hmmm do I get them out to eat or just put them on saw dust on the floor to they can walk around
and eat and drink when they want ??? I'm dont know what to do ?? Can send some-one please reply and give me some advice ?

THANKS HEAPS

 

[monathequeen]

Hello,
The two hatchlings were hatched under a hen or a incubator ?
Does not make sense. If the eggs were just hatched, you shouldn't take them away from the hen who is taking care of them. They need to be taught to eat and drink. The mother hen who is the "adopted" mother will take care of them. Put them back with the hen and keep the babies and mom seperate from other chickens..I need more info on this new problem. Hurry back...Ray

 

[MiddySpeckles]

Hi Ray. The 2 chicks inside are fine.
Its the 2 chicks that hatched under the (adopted hen) mum in the coop that I dont know what to do with.
So they are in a pen on their own, but in a box that the chicks cant get out of.
So should I just put shavings on the bottom of the pen (timber base) and put bowls of food and water
there for them to eat and drink when they want to.
Wendy

 

[abhaya]

If mum is willing to take care of them let her. just separate them from the flock so the littleones dont get hurt by the big chickens

 

[Frannabelle]

I let one of my girls hatch out 2 babies a couple of months ago...the Mama takes care of it all...the first few days she kept them in the nest box. I put a dish of crumble and a waterer right next to the box. At about day 3, the babies were leaving the box and exploring around the box, but not too far. At about 1 week, she was bringing the babies outside the coop house.
I did not keep her separate from the rest of the flock, she was so protective of them, none of the other members of the flock got very close.

 

[monathequeen]

So you have four chicks all together ? the same age ?
Who is watching over the two that are inside ?
If you have a Mother hen taking care of two inside babies, why don't you put the other two with them ? Surley the " Mother" will care for them all.
I'm a little confused here. Sorry.

Anyway you need to provide a feeder of chick-starter for the little ones and a small waterer...just keep them in a box like you said with a heat light above them to keep warm. Just use newspaper for now...I don't like shavings with little ones because they may ingest it and choke to death...paper is better.They should be at about 95 degrees inside the box....then gradually decrease the temp at about a week...ans so on.
You can also put the other two chicks with the others in the box...let them all be in one box...they don't need mom at about three to four days...they will manage on their own as long as you keep the food and water supply available.
still confused about the whole situation....

 

[Frannabelle]

Quote:
My babies at 2 mos old are still quite attached to their mother...and she to them....at almost 2 mos old now, she is still calling them over when she finds something good to eat and all three are sleeping together still in a nest box. It's quite sweet actually. I was wondering how long the "mama" thing stays with her.
I just let them be to do their thing together. I guess nature will take it's due course.

 

[MiddySpeckles]

Thanks for the replys.

(I have 4 baby chicks altogether.)

The 2 babies inside under the lamp are doing fine. Eating crumbs and drinking water.

The mother hen with the 2 babies under her is very protective and they are hiding under her.

They're in the coop with saw dust on top of the timber base though, not in a box.

So I'm thinking should I put them back in a box for a couple more days?

 

[Frannabelle]

I think they're probably fine just as you have them. It sounds like Mama is doing just what she's supposed to do.
It's really cute the way my 2 month old babies still try to hide under their Mom....they're getting to be as big as she is now....

 

[Rozzie]

Quote:
Crumbs? Do you mean crumbles, like chicken food "crumbles" or do you mean crumbs like bread crumbs? If you are feeding them bread crumbs then you need to get some starter feed for them right away. They will not grow properly without the correct nutrients.