broody abandoned chicks and it's cold!

15 years ago

We've had 6 broody hens raise chicks this year; each mom and chicks group gets a separate pen/shelter and then as the chicks get to 4-6 weeks I let them mingle with the rest of the flock (all free-range all day). So far it has gone well--mom and chicks return at night to their small coops and all eventually end up in the big coop. With one exception. Yesterday I let a Columbian Wyandotte hen with her 2 chicks, age 4 weeks, out of their small pen late afternoon. At dusk the chicks had returned to their little coop and the hen was in the big coop. It was cold (26) last night and the chicks were cold--so I brought the hen back with them for the night. Today she is ignoring them--they are kind of huddled in a corner. Will the chicks be warm enough tonight with just each other? I've had a broody lose interest in her chicks at 4 weeks (when she started to lay) but then there were 5 chicks and the weather was warm. In contrast, I have a bantam hen who is still with her 6 chicks, (some now bigger than she is) at 9 weeks.

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Comments (8)

seramas
15 years ago
It will be too cold. Is there some way you could run a extension cord with a ceramic fixture-Heat lamp is best. Hang it above the bedding high enough (usually 12-15") so it won't start a fire. Check how warm it gets under the light by placing a thermometer on the ground-it should be between 70-90F. The chicks will move away or to the heat as they may need. Until they are 10 to 12 week old in cold weather they probably will need night time heat-it depends on breed and their body size on how long and much heat they will need. I have Seramas and they are very tiny tropical chickens that can't survive well below +40F. Some are as small as 5 ounces fully grown. Good luck with them.

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claraserena
Original Author
15 years ago
Mid day she was with the chicks--normal in all ways--tonight she left them again. I took her out of the coop and put her in with the chicks and they seem fine. Thank goodness for those warm broody bodies!
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seramas
15 years ago
Happy to hear all is well in the coop. That makes things easier. Hopefully they will all go to the big coop soon.
velvet_sparrow
15 years ago
Keep an eye on her and make sure she continues to be a good mom and attends to her chicks. If she abandons them, you'll have to make a broody box for them, complete with food, water & a heat source, free of drafts & safe.

Is she a first time mom? Sometimes first time moms will lost interest in either eggs or chicks, they just need a little more time to mature themselves. :)

Velvet ~:>
claraserena
Original Author
15 years ago
Yes, she's a first time mom. She's dealing with some status issues now that she's out and she's just over a molt (getting nice new feathers)--so she's got a lot on her plate so to speak. I check as much as I can--one or the other of the chicks will get separated from her and I will herd the chick back.
I have another broody who went back to the coop 2 plus weeks ago. Her 3 chicks joined her and they all roost near each other. She still leads them during the day and they are 8 weeks.
Is there a "normal" for the time a broody cares for chicks?
Miss_Kitty
15 years ago
I confined my broody with the chicks, it was a small pen that I could move every few days. It worked VERY well. She lost interest in them after about six weeks, I put them in with the ducklings. Everyone did just fine, but it was August, not the least bit cold.

She didn't go broody this year. I guess motherhood didn't appeal to her the second time around. I was very disappointed when she didn't go broody this year. Her chicks are nice laying hens this year. Maybe I'll get lucky and they will go broody next year.

Otherwise I'm going to have to find another source of Dominques.
velvet_sparrow
15 years ago
I'd say about 6 weeks is average for a mom to care for her chicks. After that she'll gradually lose interest in them and they in her, but sometimes it's less time, other times more time. Once the kids feather out and start to get more independent, you may find the mom getting annoyed with them being around. It can vary from hatch to hatch.

Velvet ~:>
claraserena
Original Author
15 years ago
In the last four nights, the hen has left the chicks two and stayed with them two. When she left them I just took her from the coop and put her with the chicks and she settled in fine--maybe she just forgot. During the day she is an attentive mom.
And the Bantam mom is with her 6 chicks going on 10 weeks--She had co-sat with a Buff Orphington. The Buff left the chicks 3 weeks ago.
I had one Buff that had just one chick. She lost interest in the chick at 4 weeks. It was pretty sad to watch that little one try to make her way in the flock. She's just starting to lay now--still very shy and a loner.