High nest box with broody hen

[PinkFarmGirl]

I have a tiny broody bantam sitting on eggs in a nest box that's about 4 ft off the floor. Is it safe for her to hatch the chicks there? Every time I have moved a broody, they have stopped sitting, so I am hesitant to do that.
Thoughts or experience?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mine often hatch in nests 4 feet off of the ground. The broody hen has no problem safely getting them to the coop floor. Growing up on the farm I saw broody hens nest higher than that and get her chicks down. Basically she says jump and they do, then they bounce up and run to her.

I understand she is a tiny bantam broody but what does the nest look like? I've only had chicks fall out of a nest one time. I had a full sized fowl hen setting in a cat litter bucket with an open top that measured 7-1/2" x 11-1/2". Sometimes the chicks climb up on the hen's back while they wait for the later chicks to hatch. In that nest the hen was so close to the bucket edge that the chick missed the nest when it slid off her back. Four different times I picked a chick off of the coop floor and put it back in the nest with Momma. Probably the same chick. By the way, it fell 4 feet to the coop floor each time and was not injured.

Unless your tiny bantam is in a tiny nest where the chick could miss the nest if it fell off of her back I would not worry about it.

 

[SueT]

I had a bantam broody in a nest about 2 ft off the floor. What I did was wait till they all hatched then put them all down together. In my case it was in a segregated part of the coop and run.

 

[PinkFarmGirl]

Thank you! I kinda thought she could manage them but wanted to be sure. I'll put some extra hay on the floor to soften the landing. lol

 

[Ellie76]

I had a bantam broody in a nest about 2 ft off the floor. What I did was wait till they all hatched then put them all down together. In my case it was in a segregated part of the coop and run.

Mine is about 2ft off the ground, so that they are away from my 3 geese. The next box is a drawer with sides about 4inches high. They're bantams too. My concern/question is should i fence off an area just for the chickens and chicks so they dont get attacked by the geese?
If they came out of the nest, the floor of theor enclosure is shared space

 

[SueT]

Mine is about 2ft off the ground, so that they are away from my 3 geese. The next box is a drawer with sides about 4inches high. They're bantams too. My concern/question is should i fence off an area just for the chickens and chicks so they dont get attacked by the geese?
If they came out of the nest, the floor of theor enclosure is shared space

Yeah, I think you probably should.
Welcome to BYC! And let us know how it goes!

 

[Ellie76]

Yeah, I think you probably should.
Welcome to BYC! And let us know how it goes!

Will do