Broody hen question: nest location?

[77horses]

OK I'm a little worried about the location of our broody hen's nest. It's quite a ways off the ground(maybe 1-2 feet??? not sure....) and I'm worried that the chicks will fall off. Today is around day 19-20. The nest box is nailed to a shelf(literally) so we can't remove it. Will the chicks know not to go too close to the edge? Maybe should we put some type of ramp or something so they don't fall off??? They will be sharing the coop with one other hen and a rooster, and that's it.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!

 

[azelgin]

I wouldn't worry about the drop. My nests are 2' from the floor and they make the fall just fine. The last batch I had to punt out myself. They hardly bounce at all.

 

[77horses]

It's not that I'm worried they will fall and get hurt; I'm worried that they won't be able to get back up, which they won't unless they can jump 1-2 feet high!

And if they can't get back up, they will most likely die from the cold.

 

[azelgin]

Quote:
OK, I get it now. She will follow them out after the first one goes. The others will follow her. Ours find a place in the corner on the coop floor to camp, after leaving the nest. I don't think they would be able to make it up a ramp. The little guys can barely make it over a 2 x 4 at that age. One coop has an outside ramp. Mom camps outside for the first week, because the chicks can't figure out how to follow her inside. Our nest boxes have a 4" ledge on the front. Never had any make it out too soon. They seem to stay pretty close to mom, for the first couple of days.

 

[77horses]

OK thanks!