How do the chicks get back up to the nest with mom?

[Maugwa]

My coup is 28" off the ground. The nest boxes stick out from the coup about 3' from the ground. In each of the three nests I have tubs like kitty litter tubs, but they are only about 3" tall sides. I use these late Spring and early Summer like Bigzio uses his boxes, I can just go out at night, put a towel over hen and all, and move her and her nest and eggs all at once. Down under the coup, it's divided into two sections. Under the bigger 2/3rds or so is where the main feeder hangs. down where it doesn't ever get wet (there's a pvc tube I can fill to fill the feeder below so I don't have to reach under to feed). The whole under coup area has siding on three sides down to the ground, but is open to the run, so the chickens go into like a 3 sided shed under their coup to get out of the wind, rain, and sun too. Well 2/3rds of under there anyway, even though half of their run is covered with tarp, and has roosts off the ground too, they seem to like under the coup just as well. The third that they can't get to is divided off with 2" x 2" and half inch hardware cloth walls. There is a door on the back that opens from outside, in the corner that opens into a small 2' x 2' mini dog house sort of coup, and on the floor of it are some 2x4s on their sides set just right to hold the kitty litter tub and provide a inch and a half step up to the nest. There is about as much room in this little coup left over after the nest is in, as the nest itself takes. Then there is a door into the 1/3 of under coup 3 sided shed that's left, (about 4' x 6') where there is a chick feeder mom can use too and chick waterer with marbles, and another door into the big run.

I haven't used this yet. It's been built for a few months now, I'm just waiting for a hen to go broody so I can see if it works. I thought Spring may have come once, but since then we had 8" more snow that's nearly melted again. I only plan on using this in fair weather hatching, that may be May in Wyoming, or one could start setting any day now, I hope. I think mama can be the heat now safely, I just need her to get started. I'm thinking of moving her whole nest downstairs and giving her her 21 days with no nest box interference, but not alone -- she'll still get to visit and gossip through the wire, and a month or so with the chicks getting looked at but not touched, and I hope they blend right in. My flock isn't confined to the run, they get the whole yard when it's nice out, but they come and go through the run many times daily. Feeder, water, and nests are all there.

For those in the know, can you think of what I may have missed? For those asking, this is what I'm trying. I'm thinking of about 8 chicks and their mom. Do you think 24sq ft. is enough for the first month. I could move the feeder into the big run and give them 72sq ft, all of the under coup shed, in the chick pen if it gets too crowded under there. But the rest will miss the shelter.

Also, I just have 1 RIR rooster, but 4 Barred Rock, 4 Buff Orpington, 5 Golden Comet, and 1 RIR hen. Anybody had these crosses before?

 

[Sungrove Farmstead]

I recently had a hen sitting in the elevated coop and had to move her - I kept her and chicks in a cage until the chicks were about a week old, now I let them out during the day and close them in at night (because predators!) I put out non-medicated chick starter and often the other chickens go eat it, but whatever - they eat their own food/are free range also...in the new coop I am building some broody boxes that will essentially be nest boxes in cages that I can close when one decides to hatch babies I have a second broody right now so apparently this will be an ongoing thing