Cleaning around mom and chicks

[Pinguella]

So now our Sussex has hatched all of her mixed eggs. 100% of the eggs hatched and there are now at least 11 chicks. We found one dead yesterday and suspect the rooster had something to do with it so he has been moved out.
The hen has moved of the nest and relocated to another corner of her room, we removed all eggshells and put the water and starter-feed next to them in their new corner. Put out some new shaving and let her be. But now we wonder when it is ok to go in and clean out the coop a bit more thoroughly?

Mom is doing a great job so far and all chicks seem to be healthy. Happy days.

 

[GitaBooks]

Congrats on the adorable babies! And the momma is a very pretty hen.


It would disturb the momma to have people around her, but it shouldn't cause any problems. You can put down new layers of wood shavings until the chicks are older if you don't want to do too much cleaning while they are young. My chicks are raised on hey and I don't clean their pens nearly at all because the barn is so large that their droppings just break down into dirt. Because of this, I'm not sure.

Best of luck!

 

[Pinguella]

Thanks for the advice, first time we have a hen hatching so trying our best not to make to much stress for her and the chicks. Last ones where 3 weeks old when we got them.
Put down new shavings in most if the box so now she has been moving around trying to find the best spot. But this makes it a bit harder to keep the food and water close to the chicks. Should we keep checking and moving it closer or will a bit of a walk be ok for the chickens? The box is made for a horse so I guess it is 3+ x 3+ meters... Is it normal for the hen to be moving around the pen so much or will this settle when she has found THE best spot for sleepy chicks?

 

[GitaBooks]

The mother will show her chicks the food and water. I find that the mother likes to sleep in a corner and then she will bring her chicks to the food and water later. Make sure there is a soft, warm nest for them (hay works well), but she may chose an area she feels is cleaner or safer. Once she imprints on a site she usually returns to it each evening for the next 3-4 weeks.