When to introduce mom and chicks to other chickens? URGENT!

[SueT]

I just integrated my mama hen and her solo chick (age 3 weeks) yesterday w flock of 13 and it was a non-event. They had shared a fence during the 3 weeks. Mama is very protective, but no one bothers the chick at all. The rooster is also protective. He apparently knows it’s his offspring.
Living w the flock teaches the chicks the rules of flock life. This is especially good for raising the cockerels. My current rooster was raised by his mom in the flock and he’s a perfect gentleman. (Previous one was raised by me and turned out aggressive.)
I feed everyone an all-flock feed, have for years. You might want to do this, at least temporarily. I like using Purina Flock Raiser, but every feed company has their own version.
Good luck!

 

[NatJ]

It's not ok for them to eat layer food, is it? I put their food in there too, and the layer food is high up, to discourage them from eating it.

A few bites of layer food won't hurt them, but you are right that chicks should not eat large amounts of layer food.

Chick starter (or whatever you are feeding the young ones) is usually good for all ages of chickens, so you could just feed the whole flock that. If you do that, you will need to have a dish of oyster shell available free-choice so the layers can get enough calcium. Chicks will usually sample the oyster shell to see what it is, but then they pretty much ignore it until they need it.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Soo, I had to put the chicks back in their tractor last night. Every time they tried to roost, the older chickens would chase them off, even the rooster. The momma hen just stood by watching, not caring at all. I left her in with the chickens and put the chicks back in alone. I'll see how it goes today! Thank you so much for all your help!!

 

[NatJ]

Soo, I had to put the chicks back in their tractor last night. Every time they tried to roost, the older chickens would chase them off, even the rooster. The momma hen just stood by watching, not caring at all. I left her in with the chickens and put the chicks back in alone. I'll see how it goes today! Thank you so much for all your help!!

It sounds like that went fairly well, and you made a good decision at roosting time.

Yes, older chickens can be that way at roosting time.

If you can add another roost to the coop, that might be the easiest solution. The new roost would need to be far enough from the old one that the big chickens cannot peck the little ones while roosting. The roosts do not have to be the same height. The older chickens will certainly claim the "best" roost (probably the highest one), so just keep that in mind when considering height & length of roost.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

The chicks are doing just fine in their tractor, and the mom is happy to be back in with the hens. One of the chicks, however, has decided this is a good time to express his masculinity, and has begun crowing. Sadly, we can't have more than one rooster, so we have to get rid of him somehow. Since putting them in the coop would now be more trauma, because of the cockerel, we've decided to let them get a little bigger and then put the pullets in the coop. Any other cockerels can stay in the tractor with the other one.

 

[freedom chick]

You may be reintegrating momma also. She is an outsider now, having been separated for 7 weeks. Keep a watch. She may be protecting herself over her babies.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Mom's happy now, and is back in her place as top hen. She's been laying her tiny little eggs, and the rooster has taken possession of her again. She doesn't care about her chicks anymore, though. She can still see them, and they get excited to see her, but she doesn't pay them any attention.