Reintroducing hen and her chicks to the flock

[silversage03]

One of my hens had gone broody, so I finally let her set on several eggs, which hatched a couple of weeks ago. I had separated her from the rest of the flock by blocking off the nest box she was using, so she was still right there in the coop. With the addition of the little ones, I moved her into the storage area of my coop, so they'd have plenty of room to move around. My question is, when do you re-introduce her and her new babies to the rest of the flock? I feel bad that she can't forage outside with them. Thanks in advance for your input!!

 

[lazy gardener]

Where do they forage? In a closed in run, or in your yard? Generally, a broody hen's hormones are at their highest within the first 2 weeks after hatch. This is when her "protect my babies" killer behavior is at it's highest. That, IMO is reason enough to integrate Mama and babies into the flock early. She will whip any one who messes with her babies.

That being said, this is NOT ALWAYS the case. My broody Dom was at the bottom of the pecking order, and there was one hen who delighted in separating her from her chicks. (I had a few look alike hens, so could never be sure which one it was. If I could have positively id'd her, she'd have been culled or confined.) In the case of Broody Dom, I free ranged her with the flock when I could supervise. And when I could not, she and her chicks spent their days in a tractor, and their nights in a broody enclosure in the coop. I trained the babies to a cat carrier, and moved them back and forth. After 2 weeks or so, they were well enough trained that I could let them out of the tractor at dusk, and Mama would call them all into the coop, where I'd shut them in their pen. By 6 weeks, they were weaned and fully integrated. That was the summer that I was initiated into heavy hawk predation, so that added an other dimension to the situation.

So, a lot depends on your set up, your flock dynamics and your available space.