Surpise baby chick, what to do with it!!

[Little Chicken Farmers]

We had a broody hen that we let keep an egg. We didnt think it was good, not expecting it to really hatch! This morning SUPRISE there is a chick in the coop! Mommy seems to be ok, not hurting it. But I have seen a couple other hens go after it. The mother is trying to protect it but I am afraid it is going to get killed by other hens or our rooster. I dont want it to get hurt. Should I seperate the mama hen and the chick or just seperate the chick by itself? I raised these from chicks but there were 8 or them together, not one by themselves. Opinions PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[katdam]

seperate the hen and chick or the others will kill it!

 

[Little Chicken Farmers]

Here is the surprise baby

 

[katdam]

oooohhhh!! how cute! look at those toes..how cool!

 

[crazy chook]

how cute, I love chicks.

Separate them into their own area, otherwise the rooster and other hens will peck it every time it goes near them.

mummy will protect it.

 

[CaliBlueChicken]

Hello,
Make a brooding area for the Momma and Chick that is separate from the others. We close off our run for the Momma and Chick and make them a shelter to sleep in at night. We used a plastic storage box and put it on its side and covered 2/3 of the opening with a thick towel to keep the breeze out and so it felt safe and not open. Since it was a little cooler at night here I then clamped a ceramic lamp to the box to keep the chill off the air that might blow into the box opening. Though the Hen kept them underneath her for warmth, as they got bigger they didnt fit(we had 12 chicks) and so I wanted to make sure the ones that hung out from under Momma didn't get cold. Good Luck!

 

[CaliBlueChicken]

Quote:
Very Cute!

 

[Little Chicken Farmers]

Thanks for the quick responses!! I ran back outside and grabbed momma and baby and put them in a seperate cage.....Temporary untill we can fix something up for them. The chick is a cute little bugger... It has one yellow toe on each foot. Yellow around its face. Our rooster is a Barred rock, and we have Barred rock,RIR,Buff Orph,Silv Wyandotte,and Golden sex link hens. WHO knows which hen the egg actually came from. This is really funny though, we were so not expecting it to really hatch. SO next question.....How long do I leave them seperated.....at some point do I put them in with the flock? Do I need to do anything special for the chick? Food/meds? Should I give the chick and the mommy chick starter....or is the mommy going to feed the baby? This is oddly confusing !! Ive never done mommy-raised birds.

 

[kla37]

LOVE the fancy toes!!!

 

[wannabe_goatmom]

It's so cute! I fed my broody and chick both chick starter. My hen had gotten really thin while sitting on the eggs so I figured the extra protein was good for her for awhile. My hen stopped feeding/protecting the baby at about 5-6 weeks old. Since it was a small Silkie chick I kept it seperate for another couple of weeks. I would think you could start to introduce mom and chick back to the flock at 4-5 weeks, you just have to make sure the baby has a safe place it can run to if everyone starts picking on it. Maybe you could section off a part of your run with chicken wire and cut a hole small enough for only the baby to get through, that way it can have it's own safe place away from the rest of the flock if it needs it.

Watching a momma raise her baby is the cutest thing I've ever seen. I loved all the little noises she would make to the baby.
Billie Jo