Move brooding chicken or move hatchlings?

[FourSuns]

Hi, new member today.

We have a brooding chicken sitting on eggs for about a week now and we are letting her stay and hatch the eggs. The problem is that she is sitting in a nesting box about 2.5 feet off the floor. Once the chicks hatch they won't be able to get out of the box, but there is not enough room for chick feed and water.

Do I move the chicken and her chicks to another location? How soon after hatching?

Thanks.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If you move her, I'd do it during incubation. The chicks can jump an amazingly high distance. I had chicks in a high nest like that and I was trying to figure out steps or a ramp and they had already hopped back into the nest.

 

[FourSuns]

I am concerned if I move her and her eggs now she may not like it and loose interest.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What I do is move them at night when they're usually content to sit tight. I'll warm up some fake eggs and put them in the new nest. Then move her so she feels warm eggs under her. If she sits tight, I swap out the eggs. Otherwise I move her back to the original nest, but I don't thing I've ever had to do that.