Orphaned chicks

[Cluckingham Palace]

Hello everyone- I have 5 chicks about one month old. Their mother was killed last night by a predator along with one of their sisters.
They have been raised solely by mama, and will not let themselves be caught or handled. The flock is free range, and the other hens don't mind the little ones, but aren't interested in them either.
The babies are pretty well feathered, and are able to get up to the roosts and scratch and forage.
Should I try to capture them and keep them in the pen, or let them go it on their own? The big hens range pretty far, and the babies stay close to the coop.
Do you think they will go in on their own tonite without mama calling to them?
I have had chickens for years, and I am thinking they had enough training from mama to make it - just looking to see if anyone else has had this problem?
Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum!

I've had broody hens wean their chicks as young as three weeks, just totally leave them alone to make their way with the flock. They do. Usually it's more than three weeks but I've seen that a few times. They feed and water themselves. They typically go to bed where Mama was taking them to go to bed but you may have some experiences with that.

They are basically integrated with the flock but have to handle pecking order issues on their own. That should not be an issue during the day, they'll probably just form a sub-flock and kind of avoid the adults. It's sometimes surprising how much my young ones do mingle with the adults during the day at times but they do sort of have a sub-flock.

I don't know how big your coop is or how it's laid out. I have a large coop so he chicks just sleep off by themselves. If yours start getting bullied in there they may look for a safer place to sleep. That's the unknown but it's generally not a problem with mine. It has happened a couple of times.

 

[centrarchid]

Where they roost depends on when they were attacked. If at night, they are most likely to move, especially if predator visit was dramatic. As for confining, that depends upon day time predator risks. Most of mine OK if their father is about and only concern if hawks. My American Dominiques are penned as fathers not good.

What as predator? Have you made adjustments to keep it away?

 

[Cluckingham Palace]

Where they roost depends on when they were attacked. If at night, they are most likely to move, especially if predator visit was dramatic. As for confining, that depends upon day time predator risks. Most of mine OK if their father is about and only concern if hawks. My American Dominiques are penned as fathers not good.

What as predator? Have you made adjustments to keep it away?

Thanks for the reply! It was a coon. the pen wasn't shut completely and it got in. The babies were out all day today and seem fine so far. If the have no problem going in tonite I will just consider them fully part of the flock from here on out.

 

[Cluckingham Palace]

Welcome to the forum!

I've had broody hens wean their chicks as young as three weeks, just totally leave them alone to make their way with the flock. They do. Usually it's more than three weeks but I've seen that a few times. They feed and water themselves. They typically go to bed where Mama was taking them to go to bed but you may have some experiences with that.

They are basically integrated with the flock but have to handle pecking order issues on their own. That should not be an issue during the day, they'll probably just form a sub-flock and kind of avoid the adults. It's sometimes surprising how much my young ones do mingle with the adults during the day at times but they do sort of have a sub-flock.

I don't know how big your coop is or how it's laid out. I have a large coop so he chicks just sleep off by themselves. If yours start getting bullied in there they may look for a safer place to sleep. That's the unknown but it's generally not a problem with mine. It has happened a couple of times.

 

[Cluckingham Palace]

Thank you - The coop is large, so as long as they go in with the big girls tonite I will call it good and let them do their own thing. They have been out in the yard all day and seem alright. Sticking close to the coop - there is space underneath it for them to hang out and they are going in and out of the pen for feed and water. I was worried that maybe they were too young to be without mama, but your post relieves my anxieties quite a bit. Thanks again!

 

[centrarchid]

Odds are chicks will want to move their roosting site. Be out there to determine they roost somewhere safe.

More than once the first evidence I had of predator working flock at night is an abrupt changing in roosting sites.

 

[Cluckingham Palace]

Unfortunately the chicks would not go in to roost last night. They would not come out from underneath the coop. I will find out if they survived the night once the sun is up.

 

[centrarchid]

That is exactly what I would be afraid of.

Confine them to a smaller coop for about three days. This not just about lovy-duvy flock dynamics.

 

[Cluckingham Palace]

Well, two made it through the night. Two are gone, and I found one dead. I caught the two and put them in the coop with the rest of the flock. I told my husband and neighbors to leave all the chickens in for 3 or 4 days. Maybe it will "reset" the babies brains to accept the coop as safe again.