How to Set Up Momma Hen and Chick for Success - Need a Plan!

[WildHair]

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Hi everyone,

I’m posting because I’m wondering how I can best set up my coop and run to accommodate a broody mom who’s about to hatch her first baby. I don’t have any experience with mother hens, so this will be a first for me and I want to know what I can do to set up her and the baby for success. Please excuse the Christmas sign and junk in the yard.

The run on the left side of the coop isn’t attached yet, we’ll be adding that this weekend.

My concerns/additional info:

1) I let my silkie hen set for a week on 5 eggs and only one is showing any development (observed through candling). I removed the others and want to let her keep this one.

2) The mom to be is not at the top of the pecking order, (and she’s a very small silkie), so I’m worried the others could pick on her baby - but I don’t want to completely separate them from the flock because I don’t want to go through the re-integration process.

3) I don’t think a chick could go up and down the ramp underneath the coop. Is it fine to confine mom and baby in the coop? I could block off the area under the nesting boxes (it’s about 2x4’ of space, the boxes are about 16” off the ground) but then she wouldn’t be able to access the run. I know I’ll have to move her nest to the ground when the hatch date is close so the baby doesn’t fall out, but I’m sure she’ll still be broody.

Should I designate one of the runs to her and the baby and try to make a little temporary coop for her and keep them separate altogether? Or should I use a dog crate in the coop? Very overwhelmed, but I feel like I’m in too deep already to give up because the egg is about 9 days in. Any thoughts are appreciated.

I just went through this with a little bantam hen in with my Wyandotte, lt brahma, sapphire and Australorp. she did absolutely fine in the nest with the other girls in there as well, however, her nest box was much too small for the other girls to even think about getting in. once the eggs hatched I moved mom and chicks into a little mini coop with a nest box in it (they have them at walmart $169 on line) and left them in the coop. the chicks are 3 weeks old now and doing great, I let mom out every day to get in the dirt bath, locking the big girls out because they do attack her for trying to protect her chicks. we're now building a bigger broody pen 5' x 2' x 2' wire bottom to put them all in next week because these are full size chicken babies and copper is just a little ole english bantam. shes in her little 7" nest box in the picture. the little coop is perfect for a little hen like a silkie or a bantam but not for a full size chicken. great for chicks alone too. this way they are still all together but protected from the bigger hens until they are big enough to be on their own and little copper stops trying to protect them.

 

[WildHair]

added note, the chick needs chick starter crumbles it'll need to eat and drink no later than the 3rd day after hatching, mom does not need layer feed for a while especially if she is broody, they stop laying eggs