new chicks hatched by mum

Hi I have four chicks that have been hatched by mum. I only have two chickens and one became broody. We gave her some eggs from the local farm to sit on and now I have four babies. one must have wandered away from her in the night and got very cold. I have brought it indoors and have got it under a heat lamp. Has anyone any ideas how I can stop it from happening again I really want the chicks to stay with their 'Mum' but don't want them to get cold. They are really lovely. Also does anyone have any advice for me on how to look after them. I know they don't need anything for a couple of days but after that I am stuck!!!!!!
Lins

Lins, You'll need a secure area for the mom to brood the chicks ... probably separate from the other hen. Relocate the heat lamp to the brooding area with the mother hen. The feeding tray from previous hens use will work fine for "Chick Starter" feed and they'll need a water source like before but low enough for them to reach. The 4th chick ought to be welcomed back by mom; especially at night when she can't see all that well. Turn off the heat lamp for a 15 minutes and put the 4th chick under the broody hen with the siblings. Once the chick is accepted .... turn the heat lamp back on. I've got 9 chicks (7 days old) outside inside a large brooding cage in 32 degree morning weather. A heat lamp and mom are enough to keep them thriving even in the fall.

Hi

The little chick didn't make it. The other three are with their mum but the other chicken I have (I only have 2) has attacked the chicks this afternoon. What is a brooding cage?
Lins

Lins, It is separate cage away from the other hen. The chicks will continue to be attacked by the other hen. In the wild .... a hen w/ chicks keeps them away from the rest of the flock for a couple months.

Hi

Thank you for all your advice. I have moved the other chicken away from the chicks. I have made her a new bed in the garage. She is outside all day and when she starts to roost on the fence I bring her into the garag. I am hoping this will solve my problem as I don't have two houses for the chickens.
Do you know when it will be ok to give the chicks to the local farm without upseting the mum. The eggs came from the farm cause my hen got broody and I have told them that they can have the chicks as my garden is not big enough for more that two chickens.

Thank you
Lins

Lins, The chicks will be fine on their own in about 6 weeks. The mom may be upset even at that age but she'll get over it ...... in a few minutes.

Thank you for all your advice it has invaluable. I have put the hen in the garage again and mum and babies have been outside for a little while today while I cleaned them out they are lovely. I don't know how we are going to get on putting molly in the garage overnight but I will keep her separate from the babies. They are lovely and have had a bit of fresh air today. Have a look at the pics
Lins

Lins, I've raised about 60 day old chicks this past summer ....... all of them hatched by broody hens. I'm happy for your experience. It has become kinda routine for me but I never get tired of seeing the hens running about with their chicks in tow. Next spring I plan to swap out the Game Fowl eggs and try to get a few replacement pullets; Welsumer, Black, Blue & Splash Orpington + Black, Blue & Splash Ameraucana. I'm culling about 15 hens this winter. They've been like part of the family but they're close to 3 yrs old and have pretty much stopped laying for the winter months.

Hi

How do you hatch 60 chicks and not get stressed!!!!!!!!!!! only joking. Here in good old Cheshire England things have settled down. Chicks are with mum outside in a pen as I let them out on Saturday and my two Chickens Molly and Maddie started to fight. So I am still seperating them. I don't know how I am going to get harmony restored here. Molly is still sleeping in the garage but we don't know where she is laying her eggs. I might try to settle her down in the greenhouse in a box with straw what do you think as she obviously needs to lay her eggs but her house is now occupied with the chicks and their mum. Have you come across this as she has no where to go during the day. Would appreciate your advice.
Lins

Photographer -

where are you going to get your replacements? Mail order? from who?

I haven't had chickens in a few years. Last ones..got at a local feed store. I have a real nice "chicken condo" as my kids call it. ....just need some chickens.

thanks

Marrydancer
If your lookig for chicks now try the pinoneer feed store, it just past the fairgrounds and as of last week they still had some. They even had some older chicks. I've been picking up a few here and there from them, and all have been healthy.

merrydancer, I have 3 purebred roos & the purebred hens to match. I paid $100 .... 4 yrs ago for my original eggs off eggbid.com and used an incubator. Now I have a bunch of Welsumer hens + 1 Welsumer roo, a few Black Ameraucana hens & 1 Blue Ameraucana roo, 1 Black Orpington roo + 1 Blue Orpington hen + 1 Black Orpington hen. I don't like messing with an incubator but with 30 of the semi-wild Game Fowl hens running around the property now ..... all I'll have to do next spring is quarantine my roos with their respective purebred mates for 2 weeks and then begin swapping out the purebred eggs with the Game Fowl eggs just prior to the Game Fowl hens settling down for 28 days. I have this routine perfected by location and nesting boxes. The skunks are unable to get to the nests as long as we keep them up off the ground. The feral cats in our vicinity ..... are just too intimidated by the Game Fowl hens to mess with them while they're setting. I get a 90+% hatch rate from the Game Fowl hens. That's about 25% higher than any incubator (monitored by me). This is almost too good to be true ... but it is the plain truth.

Thanks K9 MOM... I will try to find that feed store. thanks for the info. :-))

WOW!! photographer...you do have a system!! Years ago, I would hatch chicks under my fierce banties... good moms!!

merrydancer, I like the bantam sized chickens due to the fact that hey don't ruin the flower garden near so much as the large fowl can/do. I'd have bantams too if it weren't for the hoards of Red Tailed Hawks, Prairie Falcons, Jensen Hawks, White Tailed Kites, Kestrals ... etc; etc; etc. There are other daytime flying raptors circling overhead that I've seen but I don't know what kind of hawk they are .... 2 others. The mature large fowl chickens (here in Moxee) are just too big for the birds of prey to seriously go after. I am glad of that fact or else we'd have no chickens at all. If I had to keep them cover or monitored .... it would be too much. My sister lost her favorite hen last week to a roaming dog ..... probably a nearby neighbors loose animal. She has no fence around her 3.5 acres and allows her birds to get out of the fenced coop/run to play on her property. Too much freedom can be dangerous to the health.

Yes, know what you mean about the over-head destroyers!! I used to only let my banties out when I was out in the garden with them. They were great helpers.... when i was digging or pulling weed, they would stay very close.. they knew a tasty tidbit could be dug up at any moment!! lol I had one little hen who loved to shoulder when I was hand pulling weeds...guess she thought she had a good view of any possible meal. However....one poop down my back was enough to end her little game.
My main chicken pen is about 30 by 30 and has a wire top and a electric wire on the outside....so don't lose too many.
Yes, miss my chickens need to get some.