Separating baby chick after hatched from mother hen

[Treegirl]

I have a broody hen on eggs; so far, so good. QUESTION: I would really like to take the chicks from the mother hen before she imprints on them and raise them myself to be closer to humans. How long after each egg hatches do I grab the new baby chicks and put them inside my brooder?

I'm sure this question has been raised on here, but I cannot find it.
Thanks for all thoughts!

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Whenever it suits you, but soon after. A day or so will do.

 

[mschickychick]

I probably wouldn't grab them until the mother comes off the nest with them usually about 24 hours after hatch. I agree that hand raised chicks are more people friendly than Mom raised but have you considered this...
When you get ready to reintroduce those chicks back to the flock they are going to get picked on with no one to protect them.
They will be more likely to get sick or come down with cocci after you put them back out, than if they stay with Mom.
They will be happier running around with Mom learning to do what chickens do than sitting in an brooder where you will have to change dirty diapers (that's what I call clean out the brooder) and changing their water 3 times a day because they keep filling it up with who knows what.
You don't have to worry about the electricity going out and/or the brooder light going out. This has happened to me 3 times in the past month.
It may break Mom's heart.

Just some things to think about. Hope this helps.

 

[Sjisty]

When my broody hatched her foster chicks, I couldn't bear to separate them - she's such a good mother!

 

[Judy]

I have a hen raising chicks now. I have no trouble handling the chicks or the Mama. She always came running when I went outdoors, hoping for treats, came right up to me, and is teaching her chicks the same.

Mschickychick makes good points. They are healthier raised by a hen and it is natural for them. If you raise them in a brooder, integration with the flock could be anything from easy to a disaster.

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

We let our silkie hen hatch out eggs and raise the chicks. The hen had been not-as-social as the others before. However, when she found that I didn't hurt her chicks and that they were safe from the other hens when with me, she was fine with me picking them up. Now, the chicks are all friendly to varying degrees. They (there are four of them) are now almost eight weeks old and momma hen is so proud of them that she won't stop mothering them! She still walks around with them and they all sleep with her at night. She even still puffs herself up at the other hens if they get too close to her territory.

The momma hen was actually chased off her nest (I couldn't move her once she went broody) shortly after most of the chicks had hatched. There used to be a fifth chick, but, when momma was chased off, the fifth chick disappeared. The momma hen was so upset that she jumped off her nest, leaving the other chicks in there, and took a quick look around for her baby. She was so exhausted at the end of that day, I think losing her chick coupled with all the changes just drained her.

 

[Chickn chick 46]

I would wait a day or so, they have to get their strenth up from the hard work of hatching.

I have to say though that I've done it both ways and letting Momma hen do her thing is SOOOOO much easier and more rewarding I think. Both my momma hens allowed us to handle her chicks.

So you can make it easier for yourself by not doing the brooder thing and still get them used to human contact and still having momma hen raise them. They'd get the best of both worlds