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How old do chicks have to be without mom?

834 views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  Bearfootfarm 
#1 ·
Made my young chicken adopt 6 chicks bc I couldn't break her broodyness .
4 weeks and a few days everything is fine ,now she wants to leave them and almost killed herself .
Are they ok without her with no heat?
They are in a little run outside and have a little dog box to go into at night and they huddle together. They were huddling with her but now she's sitting out on top even though there is room for her.
50' at night.
 
#7 ·
Thanks, I was hoping that was how it is since they were raised with Mom and been outside for a while. About the broodiness I meant she was going broody and I kept throwing her off her nest and taking all the eggs and more than two weeks into it I still could not break her broodiness so I just bought her six chicks and stuck them under her at night and she was fine like I said for about four weeks acting like they were hers.
 
#6 ·
This time of year they should be fine. Hen raised chicks get mom's oil to help waterproof them, and learn to use their own oil glands much sooner. They have been learning to regulate their own body temperature since they were a couple days old. At four weeks, they should have some feathers. Most of mine go around six weeks before the hen goes on her next brood of eggs. If it's colder, they might go longer. I have had late fall hatches where the hen brooded them all the way through winter, until she began laying in the spring. If you want eggs, put them in a wire bottom cage so they can't keep their bottom warm, and they will forget about being broody, unless they are from extremely broody breeding.
 
#8 ·
Thanks! I actually just read about the wire cage thing a few days after I got her the chicks.
It's ok bc I figured I better get more to help with ticks and rural king had some pullet chicks for $1.
I usually let them raise their own but she was getting skinny from hardly eating and only born last fall so I figured I'd better do something.
 
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