Newly hatched chicks in a second story nesting box

[Debbie Robinson]

My hen just hatched some chicks, but they are in a nesting box that is about 18" off the floor. When they are ready, do they all jump down, do I put them down on the floor or is it OK for them to drop that high? Also, other hens are trying to lay eggs in the same nest hole. What should I do?

 

[1muttsfan]

Block the nest box off with some netting or wire until the hen has hatched all her chicks, then remove them all and put them someplace a little safer - mom might try to enter the nest box at night, and the chicks are too small to make it back up that high.

 

[donrae]

Take your cue from momma. She'll get them out of the box and on the ground when she's ready. That drop will be nothing for them, they'll be fine. She will decide if she wants to brood them on the ground or back in the nest box. If she's determined to go back to the nest you'll need to rig a ramp of some type. Chances are good she'll just pick a cozy corner of the coop and nestle down there, though.

 

[1muttsfan]

Most of the time that works fine, however some hens are not as good at the momma thing as others, and have a tendency to leave their babies behind.

 

[azygous]

A couple years ago, my SS broody Linda hatched one chick in a nest that was very small and about a foot off the floor of the coop. I moved her and the chick over to a nest box that was the "floor unit" of a three-story nest box stack, specially designed for a broody with chicks, and she was just fine with the move.

Is there a nest box or can you rig one up, on the floor you can move the broody and chicks to?

 

[sonjab314]

Id move them to a lower location and hope for the best. Is this this first time shes hatched our baby chicks?

 

[Debbie Robinson]

I went out to the hen house this morning and the chick was dead already. I can only figure that it got crushed. I don't like raising chicks from eggs. NO GOOD LUCK WITH IT.

 

[1muttsfan]

That's too bad, Debbie. Raising chicks under a momma or not can be very trying sometimes.

 

[Willoughby]

My black sex-link hen just hatched her first chick, which seems to be a roo if the black mark on its head is any indication. We have 2 other hens and a very aggressive rooster. Should I separate the chick from the rest of the flock? What about the mama?

 

[Willoughby]

Just have to add that this is so exciting . . . I feel like a proud mama myself!!!