hens and babies in box up high, what are the babies eating?

[nok13]

our thai fighting hens have successfuly (in spite of horrible snow storm and we were unable to get to the coop hwere they live) hatched.

it seems that in spite of many nesting options, four hens chose two plastic veggie crates set up, to brood in. they layed there, so we had no choice.

thai hubby says its no problem for the chicks. i dont understand, becasuse the eggs that we took before they brooded, we hatched at home and the chicks are growing like crazy, at two to three weeks some are already flapping. flying, and roosting?!!! , and from third day were already eating adn drinking. so what are those chicks eating or drinking. they look big and fluffy, and quite happy under their moms. each hen took about fifteen minutes to fly down to eat with the boys, and then go back to the nest...are game chickens different in that respect? cause they certainly cant fly out of their nesting box until at least a month, they are nesting on wheat hay that we took from dairy cow feed... and the chickens get layer feed and veggies, rice and bread (whatever is left over from the hotel kitchen)... there is no such thing here as anything between chick food and layer food,at least not for small farms or hobbyists... i cant manage to make paragrapshs here, sorry for the long sentences.. .

 

[sourland]

Within a maximum of 3 days those chicks will need access to feed and water.

 

[aleebama]

What if you move their crates to the floor? I had a similar issue with chicks in a hidden nest up on a feed box. I moved the whole straw nest to a corner of the coop on the floor. It took her a bit to like the idea but she stayed down there because I moved the chicks, too.

 

[donrae]

Uhh, those chicks aren't eating or drinking! So far they're just living off the yolk they injest right before hatch. You need to move them to the floor and tip the crates or something so the chicks can get out and eat and drink. The current set up you've described is going to have a bunch of dead chicks in the next few days.

 

[nok13]

right. will rectify tomorrow. i think, since these birds like to roost high up, and seem to nest high up, we will just provide food and water in the box in some sort of set up since the hens are still brooding (not sure who is sitting on who's eggs) or maybe move them to an open sided box... question is will the hens continue to brood or will the disturbance of the move 'wake' them from their trance.... im rather glad there are two to a box since we had an unusually cold week here, so they kept eachother warm.

 

[aleebama]

Anything is possible! Lol
Kidding!!! Mine kept going back the spot where there eggs were and finally came down because of the babies.

 

[nok13]

so hubby went out early this morning before his shift and moved the mothers down with their babies; he said it was difficult becasue he wasnt sure whose eggs were whose, and who the chicks belonged to...

im curious as to the developmental differences between thsoe naturally brooded and those we hatched and are feeding.....

 

[aleebama]

Keep us posted. I am interested too.

 

[nok13]

so hubby brought home the 9 hen brooded babies since he felt the mothers werent able to protect them enough; the coop is not really set up for them , so they are in our carton brooder with the big guys.

the big guys are already roosting!! on perches, flapping, flying, kicking, and they only have wing feathers. are game fowl precocious?

the newer babies: well, hen brooded means the weaklings got culled out right away (found some dead babies in the nestin gboxes, all were yellow birds, non were with black markings etc. so inclined to think that thsoe were the eggs of a rather weak red/brown mother, who has weak haunches and turned in feet. the third yellow is here with us but i see that he too, has some eye issues. all the others are well develped, non look thin, so obviously they were betrween one day to three days old (since we only saw two on saturday, today is monday, so that makes sense that all the eggs hatched in that time frame. hard to say if all the eggs were those two hens. some of our incubated eggs must have been from our blind hen since she layed randomly and we had collected her eggs. she is also a fave of the roosters. im srather glad all the babies are together in the brooder as it will make it easier to introduce them back to our five roosters and six hens, if they are all a group. these types are very 'own group' oriented and can kill an other young chicken with one kick. we had a very nice rooster that hubby really liked and had held back here at home, who got kicked to death in one hit. females wont fight. and the roos are really nice with the females. also the birds leave our ducks alone, in the same coop. there si enough room for all... the ducks are in the background, they eat at their own feeding stations. the chick is the almost month old

 

[ABBLEE6]

SO CUTE!!!!!