Questions about my first natural hatching

[vigario]

I am a newbie at this. One of my Bantam hens showed up (in the chicken run - I had no idea she was setting or where she was setting) with seven cute, newly hatched chicks. Can I leave the hen and her chicks in the chicken run with the rest of the chickens (she takes them under the chicken coop at night) or should I seperate them?

Thanks, as usual, for all of your help.


Mark

 

[JodyJo]

I have recently had two Australorps hatch out eggs, I had them in a separate coop, the mamas left the chicks at about 3 weeks...then they were on their own...they still sleep in the other coop away from the flock...they don't co-mingle yet. I am thinking now at 10 weeks, the older ones can go inside with the big ones, problem is, getting them there! They are very skittish, downside to letting the mama raise them and not me...I can't catch them...

You can leave yours be, the mama will protect them from the larger hens...not sure what will happen when she gives them up, weans them so to say...make sure you have somewhere they can run to hide to get away from the others, there will be the pecking order to go through for them...

hope that helps a little...sorry, I just saw nobody commented, so I thought my 2 cents may help! I also have 3 younger chicks in the "chick" coop, hand raised from an incubator, friendly...and also a new broody cochin/silkie sitting on 7 eggs...due to hatch in a week...not sure what I am going to do then, most likely move her and the chicks to the small coop, and for certain then getting the bigger chicks out to the main coop....good luck!