Need advice 2 hens raising 6 chicks

[shyshaie]

I have two hens raising six 2-week old chicks. The hens left the coop with the chicks when they were about a week old but haven't gone back in since. They hunker down in the space under the coop at night. I wasn't too worried about it until the weather turned cold these last few days and the next few days are expected to have rain.

I made a nesting box out of a tote for them to go into, which they do, but I know that it's only going to get a lot more colder as time goes on, temps around freezing. Plus it's just safer in the coop. And that tote just isn't going to give them the protection they're going to need.

My question is how to get them used to going into the coop at night? (We have a run attached to the coop that they wander around in during the day.) Or, at least, how much longer till the chicks didn't really need to nest under the mother hens? I'm thinking once they're older I can take the nesting tote away to get them to go inside the coop.

My coop isn't large enough to have an area sectioned off without creating a very tiny space for 2 hens and 6 chicks. We do have a few other hens.

I appreciate your thoughts. TIA!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

First, congratulations on your hatch and two mothers.

Ah yes, the age old question when will the little darlings manage up the coop ramp to actually go into the coop. The answer to that, my dear, is as different as each hatch. I've had babes manipulate my coop ramp from day 3 or 4, toddling up and down as soon as momma took them out. Other hatches? The little darlings didn't figure it out until they were much, much, weeks older.

I've tried pretty much all tactics, and I can tell you what is successful, and what hasn't been.

1. Avoid trying to catch up the darlings and momma and physically putting them in the coop unless you have a butterfly net and a really strong back. Mom usually freaks and the little darlings go in as many ways as there are chicks. (I threw my aging back out as the bend twist then quick snap load really messes with your vertebra). You can try to train them that way, but it can be rough on you. If you are successful (and still have a fully aligned backbone), you can place them all in the coop at night to train. Rinse repeat nightly until they figure it out.

2. Better...manipulate the coop ramp so that it is more navigable for the little darlings. The shorter the ramp the better. I've bent hardware cloth over the bottom portion of my longer ramp and placed strategic boxes so the chicks can manipulate better. Having a ramp that is easy to manipulate is the most important part.

I find 2 weeks generally the time when *most* of my chicks seem to make it up the ramps without fail. So much so, that I've built a separate broody hutch where momma and babes can stay for the first two weeks. I just had a hen hatch 7 chicks in my broody hutch. Tempted, I tried her out on a warm day at week 1 after hatch, and nope, only 4 made it up. 3 were huddled in the corner of the run but sleepy and chilled, and so easy, even for my bad back, to return. I locked things up in the broody hutch for another week and they all returned fine at week 2 past hatch. Day 3 now and they are all finding their place fine with momma in the hutch.

3. Temperature. You'd be surprised. I've had chicks hatch in the dead of winter in my broody hutch, freezing, blowing ice and snow. Momma had them up and scratching in the hutch by day 3. At the time I had access to the run, and she had them out in the closed and covered run. No losses. You'd be amazed at how hardy broody hatch babes are when they stay with momma. If a babe wanders away or gets separated with a dumb chick trick (lost behind an object of some kind), then you will have chill losses.

4. Predators. Now that's the real risk. Nothing brings out the predators like the cheeping of little babes. If your run is fairly secure, I'm not worried about her being under the coop, if you are a fairly low predator area. I actually have that set up and have had hens brood in the main raised coop and take the small babes underneath. Once in a while I'll have a chick wander off from mom and get chilled or taken by a rat, but over all it worked pretty well.

5. Think about food and water. Make sure babes have easy access to both with water not too deep for drowning.

6. How important are the chicks. For really important hatches, I use my broody hutch and have an isolated mom with clutch that doesn't come out until 2 weeks after hatch to return nightly to that coop (with open ranging with the flock). For volunteers and regular hatches of nonessential chicks, I often let nature take its course with an eye to coop ramp set up. One year I had a hen disappear and 3 weeks later came out from the brambles with a string of 6 in tow. She managed to manipulate them through the brambles, across the woodpile, and was waiting for me at the run door with babes. She set up under the main coop but with adjustment to the run the next night made it into the main coop.

So it all really, really depends. I find that the more you want the clutch to be successful, the more pitfalls and mishaps there are. However, what you are describing could totally be successful with the overturned tote. If you have a strong back, try placing them in the coop and placing some hardware cloth to improve your ramp. Otherwise, shore up the run and let nature take its course.

My thoughts and experiences.

LofMc

 

[shyshaie]

First, congratulations on your hatch and two mothers.

Ah yes, the age old question when will the little darlings manage up the coop ramp to actually go into the coop. The answer to that, my dear, is as different as each hatch. I've had babes manipulate my coop ramp from day 3 or 4, toddling up and down as soon as momma took them out. Other hatches? The little darlings didn't figure it out until they were much, much, weeks older.

I've tried pretty much all tactics, and I can tell you what is successful, and what hasn't been.

1. Avoid trying to catch up the darlings and momma and physically putting them in the coop unless you have a butterfly net and a really strong back. Mom usually freaks and the little darlings go in as many ways as there are chicks. (I threw my aging back out as the bend twist then quick snap load really messes with your vertebra). You can try to train them that way, but it can be rough on you. If you are successful (and still have a fully aligned backbone), you can place them all in the coop at night to train. Rinse repeat nightly until they figure it out.

2. Better...manipulate the coop ramp so that it is more navigable for the little darlings. The shorter the ramp the better. I've bent hardware cloth over the bottom portion of my longer ramp and placed strategic boxes so the chicks can manipulate better. Having a ramp that is easy to manipulate is the most important part.

I find 2 weeks generally the time when *most* of my chicks seem to make it up the ramps without fail. So much so, that I've built a separate broody hutch where momma and babes can stay for the first two weeks. I just had a hen hatch 7 chicks in my broody hutch. Tempted, I tried her out on a warm day at week 1 after hatch, and nope, only 4 made it up. 3 were huddled in the corner of the run but sleepy and chilled, and so easy, even for my bad back, to return. I locked things up in the broody hutch for another week and they all returned fine at week 2 past hatch. Day 3 now and they are all finding their place fine with momma in the hutch.

3. Temperature. You'd be surprised. I've had chicks hatch in the dead of winter in my broody hutch, freezing, blowing ice and snow. Momma had them up and scratching in the hutch by day 3. At the time I had access to the run, and she had them out in the closed and covered run. No losses. You'd be amazed at how hardy broody hatch babes are when they stay with momma. If a babe wanders away or gets separated with a dumb chick trick (lost behind an object of some kind), then you will have chill losses.

4. Predators. Now that's the real risk. Nothing brings out the predators like the cheeping of little babes. If your run is fairly secure, I'm not worried about her being under the coop, if you are a fairly low predator area. I actually have that set up and have had hens brood in the main raised coop and take the small babes underneath. Once in a while I'll have a chick wander off from mom and get chilled or taken by a rat, but over all it worked pretty well.

5. Think about food and water. Make sure babes have easy access to both with water not too deep for drowning.

6. How important are the chicks. For really important hatches, I use my broody hutch and have an isolated mom with clutch that doesn't come out until 2 weeks after hatch to return nightly to that coop (with open ranging with the flock). For volunteers and regular hatches of nonessential chicks, I often let nature take its course with an eye to coop ramp set up. One year I had a hen disappear and 3 weeks later came out from the brambles with a string of 6 in tow. She managed to manipulate them through the brambles, across the woodpile, and was waiting for me at the run door with babes. She set up under the main coop but with adjustment to the run the next night made it into the main coop.

So it all really, really depends. I find that the more you want the clutch to be successful, the more pitfalls and mishaps there are. However, what you are describing could totally be successful with the overturned tote. If you have a strong back, try placing them in the coop and placing some hardware cloth to improve your ramp. Otherwise, shore up the run and let nature take its course.

My thoughts and experiences.

LofMc

Thank you!

 

[Yardmom]

I will second weather is not a problem for chicks with broodies, but if you want the chicks in the coop show them how to get in.
I'm surprised your moms are not trying to bring them in, but maybe they feel secure where they are.
Are you able to catch the Moms? How about the chicks? Daytime is actually best. If you catch all of them put moms in the coop and walk the littles up the ramp, if they don't go to the moms on their own.
If not herd them in. Possibly form walls (card board works) that guide them to the ramp.
Most of my chicks handle the ramp just fine. Only have had a few that needed to be shown what to do, and with those very few needed a second teaching.

 

[shyshaie]

I will second weather is not a problem for chicks with broodies, but if you want the chicks in the coop show them how to get in.
I'm surprised your moms are not trying to bring them in, but maybe they feel secure where they are.
Are you able to catch the Moms? How about the chicks? Daytime is actually best. If you catch all of them put moms in the coop and walk the littles up the ramp, if they don't go to the moms on their own.
If not herd them in. Possibly form walls (card board works) that guide them to the ramp.
Most of my chicks handle the ramp just fine. Only have had a few that needed to be shown what to do, and with those very few needed a second teaching.

Thank you!