Help! Eggs should be hatching any day!

[Masers]

Hello!

I inherited my brother’s chickens when I bought his house, and I have no idea what I’m doing. He had 8 chickens originally, but only 2 remain at this point (about 4 years later). One of the chickens went super broody this spring, and would NOT leave the nesting box. My brother and sister-in-law tried and tried to break her of the bloodiness, but to no avail: I inherited a very broody hen! I ended up buying fertile eggs for her online, since we wanted to have more chickens anyway, and she has been laying on them for almost 3 weeks now. They should be hatching within the next couple days.

However, now that the date is approaching, I’m realizing that the set-up is probably all wrong for chicks. The nesting box she is in is quite high, with a steep ramp to get there. I don’t think chicks could handle that, and some kind of ground nest box or something would probably be a lot better. Also, the material in the bottom of the nesting box is a wire screen type of material, with fairly large holes in the screen, if that makes sense? Like, it’s no problem at all for the hens, but I feel like tiny chick feet will go right through the gaps and could definitely be really bad for them...I’m picturing broken legs and stuck chicks...argh!

SO—now that hatching day is almost approaching, I’m realizing that I need to figure things out asap! Please don’t rip me to shreds—I know I should have done my research way in advance. We’ve been moving, I have young children, very busy job, husband traveling, etc.—I have not prioritized baby chick research! (I have “chicken-sat” for my brother many times over the years, and I feel competent in caring for adult chickens...but clearly this needed a little extra research!)

PLEASE HELP a clueless new chicken mama out! What do I need to do to prepare for this? Can I move the brooding hen at this point, or will she abandon the eggs? (Like if I get some kind of mini chicken coop or ground box or what do I even need?!?!)

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

 

[Perris]

hello Masers
lucky you - broody and imminent chicks
Here's my advice: first, don't panic! second, don't move her now, wait till the chicks hatch. (They could probably survive the fall, should it happen, but as you suspect will not be able to get back up a ramp initially.)

material in the bottom of the nesting box is a wire screen type of material, with fairly large holes in the screen, if that makes sense? Like, it’s no problem at all for the hens, but I feel like tiny chick feet will go right through the gaps and could definitely be really bad for them

can you rig up something temporary but solid under the screen to prevent the nightmare you envisage?
the chicks will be fine for a day or two, but then will need food and water. At that point you need to move them to the ground. The broody will guide you when to act - trust her, she knows what she is doing, better than any of us do

 

[Masers]

Thanks for the response! I posted in the chick forum too, and someone suggested lining the box with cardboard...I thought that was a good idea. But I’m just worried about moving her at this point!

 

[Perris]

I’m just worried about moving her at this point

Rightly so - I wouldn't. Apart from her reaction, which may be panic resulting in broken eggs or abandoning them, you do not want to move the eggs. If you were using an incubator, you'd be in the 'lockdown' phase, ie. don't touch, don't turn, don't open the incubator.

 

[Masers]

Rightly so - I wouldn't. Apart from her reaction, which may be panic resulting in broken eggs or abandoning them, you do not want to move the eggs. If you were using an incubator, you'd be in the 'lockdown' phase, ie. don't touch, don't turn, don't open the incubator.

Eek. I went over today to check out the situation, and it is even worse than I was initially thinking. There is a large hole in the wire screen, about six inches by six inches, right next to the hen. I feel like a chick could fall right through there with no problem. Plus there is poop everywhere, right next to her, and I don’t even know how to clean it up. My arms aren’t long enough to reach it...I’ll have to send my husband over to try to clean up and maybe surround her with cardboard?? And the ramp is actually set at an angle from the opening, so again, super easy for a chick to fall right off. Oy! I don’t even know what to do! ‍

 

[Perris]

the chicks will stay very close to the hen, and go where she goes, so don't worry about them wandering over to the hole or ramp and falling, at least for the first couple of days.
It would be good to remove the pooh from the vicinity before they hatch if you can - how do you do it normally if it's beyond reach?
is she still leaving for a short time each day to eat, drink, dustbathe and pooh? if so, could you wait till she's out and quickly clean up the area without disturbing the eggs? if not, you'll just have to wait for the hatch and then move them all down to a clean nesting box (cardboard is OK in absence of anything else; it's only temporary) on the ground - with chick feed and water near by.

 

[jas humbert]

Is there any way tape the cardboard underneath the screen and hole from below so you don't have to make her move? If not, can you put a small pile of straw in with her to cover the hole and the poop? She may fuss at bit but she probably wont leave the eggs at this point even if you do poke around and push straw under her. Babies are going to stay right under the mama for the first 24 hours or so. If you can find something to put her in on the floor (a dog crate, a box on its side, etc) once at least some babies have hatched she will stay right with them in the new spot -at least until she decides they all want to go outside in a few days. You will be fine, broody mamas usually know how to do this better than we do.