Separating Momma Hen from her chicks

[krista74]

How are you going to integrate the chicks with the rest of the flock?
Why not just let the broodies integrate their chicks into the flock while they are still under her protection?

I'm not integrating the chicks right now purely because we have a cat who would hunt them and kill them at an opportune moment. At 5 weeks old they are way too small, and as our cat regularly kills rabbits a little 5 week old chick would be easy pickings.

The first Broody Hen is done being a Momma. She went straight up to roost last night without glancing sideways at her chicks so I doubt she would protect them should trouble occur. And there is no way the second Momma could keep 8 mixed age chicks safe against our cat either.

As far as how I'm going to integrate them all, well.....the pen they are all in is in a section of the man coop, so they are familiar to the rest of the flock and have been able to be seen since hatching day. Also, when the girls come into the coop to lay I am let the chicks out of their pen and into the main coop where they can wander past the nest boxes while the girls are laying.

I guess at some point, when they are close to full sized (maybe 12 weeks old?) I will simply open up their pen and let them join the flock. I'm sure there will be squabbles, but if there are 8 of them, and they are close to the adult's size (granted, not the same weight though) they should be ok. The main flock only consists of 1 roo and 5 hens, so the chicks will outnumber them too.

- Krista

 

[Aphrael]

Outnumbering the bigger ones should make the integration go a bit smoother.

 

[krista74]

Oh my gosh!

She laid an egg today!

What the?!

She doesn't even look like she is ready to lay - her comb is still pale and she is very thin.

But I saw the egg come out with my very own eyes.

Is this unusual?! She is a RIR.

- Krista