I have 4 babies in with a foster mum she has fed and looked after them perfectly for the last 4 weeks the 2 eldest are 31 and 28 days old and the two younger are 19 and 14 days old the two eldest have fledged and keep flying to the bottom and now the mum doesnt go into the nestbox hardly so the two babies are freezing in there so i have been putting the older babies back in to keep the little ones warm what else can i do?

Its normal for a mother to stop going into the nestbox at chicks age 2-3 weeks as they keep each other warm. You are playing with fire if you keep forcing the fledged chicks back in there as sometimes the fledged chicks can attack a younger chick. I have had it happen in similar circumstances. Are you absolutely sure Mum doesnt go into the nest later on at night ?

I would pile the nest with extra bedding and they should be fine.

Its normal for a mother to stop going into the nestbox at chicks age 2-3 weeks as they keep each other warm. You are playing with fire if you keep forcing the fledged chicks back in there as sometimes the fledged chicks can attack a younger chick. I have had it happen in similar circumstances. Are you absolutely sure Mum doesnt go into the nest later on at night ?

I would pile the nest with extra bedding and they should be fine.

 

 

Yeah i have put extra bedding in there and i dont have to force the older babies back in there its like they want to go back but they dont know how to get there they are still learning to fly. The mum doesnt go in there at all anymore so im guessing it is the dad that is feeding them because they have alot less in their crops than usual? just as long as they keep getting fed i am happy so should i just keep checking on them and let them do their own thing?

Keep checking them to see they are fed. You may have to take over the feeding...you may have to remove the hen so the Dad takes over without distractions.

Good luck with it all... with the extra bedding hopefully all will be well... like kaz suggested maybe take the mum out so that the dad doesn't think about round 2 and just focuses on the kids.