how do babys get off nest box

[samandmike]

thay are supos to hatch in 4 days. my box is about 5 foot off the ground. ground is dirt floor. will thay jump ok? or do i need to make some way for them to climb down? also how will thay do in coop with mom and other chickens? do i have to prop a bord up to keep adult chickens from picking on them?

 

[Nostalchic]

Your nest box is 5 feet up? That's pretty high - they might (MIGHT!) survive a fall or a jump down, but certainly couldn't get back up! I don't think that is a good arrangement at all. At the very least, they initially need a nest close to the ground. It's a little late to be telling you this, but I always separate my broody and her clutch, as soon as it's apparent that she's serious, in a separate "feed room" in my coop, and keep them there until the chicks are around 7-10 days old, then let them mingle with my flock of 25 hens some during the day, but continue to keep them separate at night until they are fully feathered and their mama doesn't really want to take care of(ie: sleep with) them any more. I guess what I would do, if I were you, is go in during the night and take her and her nest and clutch and fix them up in a safe, separate area within the coop or somewhere, and hope for the best.

 

[samandmike]

i have a dog box on the floor of coop for ducks to nest. in but thay seem to have quit laying. do you think that will work? should i put her and eggs in tonight? or do you think leave alon and just try to get them after hatch? so mom dosent go back in nest box and leave eggs in dog house .

 

[Judy]

It used to be common for hens to nest in hay lofts, and the chicks would fly down after a day or two without a problem. Of course they can't get back up, so mama comes down and makes a new nest at ground level.

Moving a broody is very tricky; they want to go back where they were, even though the eggs are in the new location. Usually the new chicks just stay under mama for a day or so while the others hatch. With a little luck, they won't leave til after the hatch is over, and mama will follow.

 

[samandmike]

ok thanks ill keep watching and just keep straw in doghouse on the floor. prop a bord against the wall to give the babys some way to get away from other biger birds. thanks again.

 

[Faith Hope]

I just had a broody hatch out in a nest box about 4 feet off the ground. I figured they would stay with momma, but that is not what happened. She hatched out the first 4 out of 11 late one evening and the rest hatched during the night. When I went in the next morning there were 4 on the ground -- they were really cold but alive. Three of the 4 survived but one of them had gotten too cold and died later that day.

I guess if I had to do it again, I would either block off the nest so the chicks couldn't fall out, or I would move them rto the ground level ight away after some started hatching.

 

[samandmike]

i was off by 4 days. went to feed this morning and yahoo i had 1 hatching. went back later there was 2. that was a surprise i put all eggs in at the same time. when she started to sit and counted the days 28 marked calander and 4 days earley. does this happen often? caus i have some in bater. do i need to watch closer than i thought?

 

[markrgriffin]

I had thought it was 21 days not 28. Anyway, I can hear cheeps this morning from my broodies nest box. Have not moved her so don't know how many yet

 

[Judy]

I'd probably move her and her nesting material (nest too if it's movable) down to floor level soon. She won't abandon the nest because of its being moved, once hatching has begun. She should take her chicks off the nest and to food and water either today or tomorrow.