Hen – TBN Ranch Chicken Keeping Resources

Two Week Old Chicks Meet the Flock With Protective Mother Hen

I wasn’t convinced that having baby chicks in December was a smart move, but my Silkie hen seemed confident, so I went along with it. As a seasoned mother hen, I trusted her, and even though the temperatures are cold at night, she has kept them toasty warm.
The chicks are now two and a half weeks old. She’s brought them out from their little safe house to meet the rest of the flock, and there’s been no drama, except for her overbearing protection of the babies. The other hens have been thoroughly warned to keep their distance, and they absolutely do.
It’s December, with daytime temperatures in the 60s and nighttime lows in the 40s. There’s no heat in the coop, but it’s fully protected from inclement weather. Throughout the day, she regularly settles in, allowing her babies to snuggle under her for warmth. At dusk, Mom gathers her babies and takes them back to their little safe house, where they snuggle under her wings in a nest box filled with fluffy bedding until dawn. Did I go out the first few nights to check if they were warm? Of course! Chicks Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn were warm as toast, so my backup heated brooder plan was unnecessary, however, the peace of mind was appreciated.

A Short Video of my Silkie & Two Hatch-a-Longs

It wasn’t easy finding chicks only a few days old at the end of November; most feed stores stop ordering until spring. I don’t know why, because we live in Phoenix, and now is when the weather is finally comfortable. A few places still had chicks, but they were already several weeks old and too big for a broody hen to raise. Eventually, I found two six-day-old Easter Egger chicks. Still, it felt risky to assume my hen would accept them since they were larger than what she was used to.
At dusk, I went into the brooder pen inside the coop, removed the fake eggs from beneath her, and tucked the two babies under her wings. I waited… and sure enough, she tightened her wings around them and made her soft little cooing noises to comfort them. Success! I checked on them once during the night, and it was clear my hen had once again accepted babies that just magically appear out of nowhere.

The hen and chicks will stay confined in the corner pen for another week or so. After that, I open the door and let Mama decide when it’s time to bring them out into the real world. She’ll protect them from the flock, she may be older, but she’s definitely the boss when she has babies. She won’t allow the existing flock anywhere near them, and they learn quickly to respect her.