Baby hatched in raised coop question

[Feldmanntanya]

We have a hatched baby with a great mama but they are in a raised coop. We have an automatic door and have observed mama keeping the chick from going/falling out the door. Our concern is this little guy is only two days old and obviously won’t make it down the ramp.

Any insight on what we should do?

We have one rooster and eight other hens. They all seem to be getting along fine.

 

[DemeterAD9]

How high is it? My coop is about 24in off the ground and both my broodies and their chicks figured it out pretty well. One kept her chicks inside for about a week (I gave them food and water) and the other moved her brood to a lean-to connected to the main coop for bed time until they were old enough to figure out the ramp and/or fly high enough to get to the door.

 

[Feldmanntanya]

It’s about three feet off the ground. They have food and water next to the nesting box she claimed. She’s still sitting on one egg, today is day 22 so we’re not sure that one is going to make it. It was laid the same day as the one that hatched.

We’ll let her figure it out then. Thank you! This is our first broody/hatch.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Let me see if I can make you feel better about one thing. My nests are 2 feet and 4 feet above the coop floor, broodies hatch in them all of the time. I once saw a hen get her chicks down from a 10 feet high hay loft. The hen flies to the ground, tells the chicks to jump, and they do. Whether from 2, 4 or 10 feet up, they hit the ground, bounce up, and run to her. They do not get hurt.

I've only had chicks fall out of a nest one time. I was using a 7-1/2" x 11-1/2" cat litter bucket as a nest. It was about 4 feet above the coop floor. The chicks were crawling up on the hen's back. She was sitting so close to the side of that nest that when a chick fell off of her back it missed the nest and hit the floor. Four different times I picked a chick up off of the floor and put it back in the nest. It was probably the same chick each time. It was not injured in those falls. Don't worry about the chicks being hurt if they fall off of or roll down that ramp. They will be OK when the hen takes them down.

The chicks may not be able to get back up to the coop once she takes them down. Be out there at their bedtime to see if the hen needs help getting her chicks where she wants them and where you want them. My coop is on the ground so no ramp but I'm out there at bedtime every night to lock them up anyway but occasionally my broody hens need a little help. Yours might or might not.

When those chicks were falling out of the nest I had a rooster, several hens, and a lot of juveniles running around. When a chick is separated from the hen it is in some danger from the other flock members but I never had a problem. The chick did not go that far that the mother could not protect it anyway but the others were not that interested in it anyway.

 

[Feldmanntanya]

Let me see if I can make you feel better about one thing. My nests are 2 feet and 4 feet above the coop floor, broodies hatch in them all of the time. I once saw a hen get her chicks down from a 10 feet high hay loft. The hen flies to the ground, tells the chicks to jump, and they do. Whether from 2, 4 or 10 feet up, they hit the ground, bounce up, and run to her. They do not get hurt.

I've only had chicks fall out of a nest one time. I was using a 7-1/2" x 11-1/2" cat litter bucket as a nest. It was about 4 feet above the coop floor. The chicks were crawling up on the hen's back. She was sitting so close to the side of that nest that when a chick fell off of her back it missed the nest and hit the floor. Four different times I picked a chick up off of the floor and put it back in the nest. It was probably the same chick each time. It was not injured in those falls. Don't worry about the chicks being hurt if they fall off of or roll down that ramp. They will be OK when the hen takes them down.

The chicks may not be able to get back up to the coop once she takes them down. Be out there at their bedtime to see if the hen needs help getting her chicks where she wants them and where you want them. My coop is on the ground so no ramp but I'm out there at bedtime every night to lock them up anyway but occasionally my broody hens need a little help. Yours might or might not.

When those chicks were falling out of the nest I had a rooster, several hens, and a lot of juveniles running around. When a chick is separated from the hen it is in some danger from the other flock members but I never had a problem. The chick did not go that far that the mother could not protect it anyway but the others were not that interested in it anyway.

Thank you!

 

[KyCoop]

My coop is also raised with a ramp. My broody hatched 2 babies and they stayed in for a week. My ramp is little steep but is covered in a rubber mat.
When she brought them out nobody went rolling down the ramp. And they where able to go back up too.

 

[Feldmanntanya]

My coop is also raised with a ramp. My broody hatched 2 babies and they stayed in for a week. My ramp is little steep but is covered in a rubber mat.
When she brought them out nobody went rolling down the ramp. And they where able to go back up too.

Awesome, thank you!

 

[SamLockwood]

The better mothers keep the chicks inside as much as possible the first couple days until the chicks get their legs under them. I help out by providing them their own food and water source in the coop.

They're pretty good at training them, and when the babies get feathers enough, usually 2 to 4 weeks old they'll start with roosting and flying lessons .

 

[Feldmanntanya]

The better mothers keep the chicks inside as much as possible the first couple days until the chicks get their legs under them. I help out by providing them their own food and water source in the coop.

They're pretty good at training them, and when the babies get feathers enough, usually 2 to 4 weeks old they'll start with roosting and flying lessons .

Yeah. We’ve watched her steer him away from the door. She’s got the other hens scared to go in the coop to lay and we’ve found a few eggs in the coop. She’s letting them in at night or maybe our rooster is helping with that.

Fun to watch. On a side note the other egg hasn’t hatched (day 23) so she may just have the one baby.