What do I do with broody momma and chicks

[LulaBell]

Last week 2 broody hens hatched chicks. Hen A hatched a single chick and hen B hatched 3 chicks and stopped sitting on the eggs. I put the eggs under a heat lamp and hatched out 2 chicks who are in a brooder right now.

My question is what now??

Do I take the chicks from the mommas put them together in a brooder until they are old enough to be integrated with the rest of the flock? Do I leave them with the mommas? What is the appropriate/best thing to do at this point?

 

[nchls school]

There is no best thing as it really depends on your situation. Raising the chicks in a brooder would be safer for the chicks as it would eliminate accidents, getting lost, and predation. It also means more work for you in the care and cleaning department.

All six chicks could be given to one hen to raise or you could give each one three chicks. There's the possibility that the hens would team up and raise the chicks together; providing the hens get along.
Then you have the issue of leaving the new moms with the flock or separating them until the chicks are big enough to flee unfriendly flock members. Some flocks are bad news when it comes to chicks being around. Other flocks are fine having new chicks nearby.

Chicken owners have to pick what method best works for their situation.

 

[LulaBell]

There is no best thing as it really depends on your situation. Raising the chicks in a brooder would be safer for the chicks as it would eliminate accidents, getting lost, and predation. It also means more work for you in the care and cleaning department.

All six chicks could be given to one hen to raise or you could give each one three chicks. There's the possibility that the hens would team up and raise the chicks together; providing the hens get along.
Then you have the issue of leaving the new moms with the flock or separating them until the chicks are big enough to flee unfriendly flock members. Some flocks are bad news when it comes to chicks being around. Other flocks are fine having new chicks nearby.

Chicken owners have to pick what method best works for their situation.

Those are a couple of great suggestions. Hen B actually hatched 4 chicks and Hen A killed one of them. They DO NOT get along at all. I'm afraid the rest of the flock would be the same way. I think what is safest would be to take all the chicks and raise them in a brooder and put the moms back with the rest of the flock. But I also feel bad for taking the babies away from the hens. I was hoping there were other options out there I had not thought of yet. Thank you for your suggestions!

 

[nchls school]

If the chicks are not very old, the hens may go back to their nests and brood. If this should happen it is not a good idea to give them more eggs; better to break them of broodiness by putting them in a bare cage for a week.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree, there is no one right way to do it. You had a problem with one hen killing another hen's chick. To me that eliminates giving each hen 3 chicks. I think you best options are to either give them all to one hen or brood them yourself.

I don't know how old they are, one hen may accept them and she may not. The chicks may imprint on that one hen or they may not. I really like a broody hen raising the chicks but it can get a bot complicated.

 

[mailmamm]

My hen accidentally killed her first chicken I think by squishing it but has two chicks that are 4 weeks old. I isolated her and chicks from the other two hens because I wasn't sure how things would go. It has gone very well and I allowed the momma a chicks to be in a secure run with the other hens at about 2.5 weeks. It's quite humorous to watch as once hen doesn't like the chicks and runs from them while the other couldn't care less. Momma has them all buffaloed. Now I have to wait until the chicks are big enough to free range in the with the dog like the big birds do. I'm not so sure the dog will not go after the chicks just yet.