Hummmmm...

[miken 89]

I get that chicks can go a few days without food or water, while in the nest. What’s bothering me, is how do they get out of the nest? My nesting boxes are about eighteen inches off the ground. I’ve seen the video of baby ducks jumping off the cliff in Alaska falling several hundred feet and most of them surviving. I’m assuming they jump, does anyone really know or one day they are in the nest and the next on the ground? I’m not really worried just curious. Lastly I’m a little worried that since these are communal nests and I’m fairly certain mom is sitting in other hens eggs as well as hers. I seem to be getting one chick a day, which is okay for the first three but any after? Or if there’s still cheeping in the eggs will mom stay in the nest starving the first hatched, waiting on those that haven’t hatched? I’m taking a strictly hands off policy but this is her first and mine. So she’s inexperienced, I have incubated chicks and know how hard it is to bring them safely home. It seems to me there’s so much to go wrong here that she’s going to get caught in the middle of.

 

[Lesjr883]

I took the legs off of my nesting boxes when I had a broody hen. I sat them on the ground which allowed the chicks to go in and out with no problems. Next time I will have a lower nesting box built so I can move the eggs and hen before they hatch and don't have to take the legs off the existing nest boxes.

 

[DiYMama540]

Mama hen will work a lot of the kinks out when it comes to making sure the babies have feed and water.
To make sure everyone gets out of the nest safely you could add a small ramp down to the ground for them.
If you're nesting area is large enough, you could put a little bit of food and water up there for mama and babies while they wait for the rest to hatch.

Any pics of the coop and nest boxes?