Trouble with babies and other hens

[Andi-N-drew]

So we had only one chick just hatch today. Mama seems to be doing a good job but another one of our hens grabbed the chick by it's foot and ran around with it planning to probably eat it? It's the same way she acts when she gets a frog so that's my assumption. I was hoping to be able to just leave mama and the chick with the rest of the flock. I was always able to do so with our old chickens, Loca, who was always our broody , was at the top of the pecking order and took no s*** from anyone. This mama however is not quite so aggressive. Anyways, I'm constructing something now to separate her and the baby out of 2 dog kennels but I'm really not sure it's big enough. Can someone tell me if this seems sufficient? It's really all I have. I'm planning to line them with poultry netting and set them in the shade on my back porch. We will just make sure to let them out into the yard supervised so mama can stretch her legs.
How long should they be kept in here and away from the rest of the flock?

 

[JaeG]

Could you fit that in your coop? Our bantam who recently hatched chicks was kept in a dog crate for 5 days so that everyone could get used to the idea of babies as it's the first time we've had chicks in the flock. Your hen won't move around much for a few days so they don't need much space initially.

 

[Andi-N-drew]

Could you fit that in your coop? Our bantam who recently hatched chicks was kept in a dog crate for 5 days so that everyone could get used to the idea of babies as it's the first time we've had chicks in the flock. Your hen won't move around much for a few days so they don't need much space initially.

I had thought about doing that. It wouldn't be able to fit in the coop but I could fit it in the run. I was just concerned that mama would want to get out and be with the flock and wouldn't be able to. Do you think that would be an issue?

 

[JaeG]

I had thought about doing that. It wouldn't be able to fit in the coop but I could fit it in the run. I was just concerned that mama would want to get out and be with the flock and wouldn't be able to. Do you think that would be an issue?

She will focus on her babies and the rest of the flock will be told to keep their distance, and for the first 3 days they tend not to move off the nest anyway. Our girl was fine and the dogcrate wasn't that big once I'd wrangled the box she was nesting in inside it - just enough space for a feeder and waterer and not much else.

She actually kept her babies in the coop for about 2 weeks before really taking them out and about. She'd take very short trips outside, but that was it. Now they are outside all day exploring (ours free range). Our boy is not quite a year old yet so he's been trying to figure out what he should be doing as well which is cute to see.

 

[Shezadandy]

Yes- keep them separate in a place the baby cannot accidentally slip through for the first few days. EDITED TO ADD: The chick will be able to squeeze through. Can you get a roll of 1/2" hardware cloth, 2ft tall and use zip ties to attach it? That will keep baby in - hate to have baby out and momma locked in.

Chicks go through what I call their "pollyanna stage" where they have no clue that anything will try to hurt them. Once baby's getaway sticks are longer and it gains some situational awareness, then do supervised time with the flock. Also STRONGLY suggest picking up a feed store chick or two to raise baby with (assuming baby just hatched and momma hen is still receptive). The two single chick broody experiences I had weren't great - either momma holds onto them for months on end or momma ditches them at 4 weeks - and then there's just the one lonely baby whose momma is "done" with baby. When they have siblings, this is easier, they have friends and go exploring. Hope that helps.