New chicken mom

[536320]

My hen will be a first time mom soon (hopefully). She is laying her eggs in the top nesting box. Just want to know if the chicks hatch, will it be safe for them to come down or should I let her nest lower to the ground? Also do the chicks need a separate water bowl and how soon after they hatch will they eat on their own?
Thanks in advance. Here is a pic of her in the nesting box while my rooster patiently waits for her to finish at the bottom.

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

The chicks should be fine if they have mom with them.
Chicks start eating about a day or so after they hatch, though it may take longer depending on when the broody leaves the nest.

 

[536320]

The chicks should be fine if they have mom with them.
Chicks start eating about a day or so after they hatch, though it may take longer depending on when the broody leaves the nest.

Will I need some sort chick feed?

 

[Ihavesomechickens]

Will I need some sort chick feed?

Yes, i would switch the whole flock to chick feed and give out oyster shell on the side for laying hens.

 

[536320]

Yes, i would switch the whole flock to chick feed and give out oyster shell on the side for laying hens.

Thank you for the quick reply and advice.

 

[Shezadandy]

Personally I would move her to her own protected space before hatching begins. Once the eggs have pipped, the shell is substantially weakened, so where things have been fine with chickens stepping on them, that can get really ugly really fast if it happens during the hatching process. Also, you never know what the other birds are going to think of the chicks.

For the first 2-3 days they have no real proactive self preservation thoughts in their little brains, which is natural - but it also means they have no instinct to get out of the way if the other birds peck them, or to stay out of harm's way if momma hen gets in a dust up. In the 4-6 day old stretch they start figuring this out and they're much quicker, so generally I wait until they're a week old before introducing momma and babies back to the flock. And I do it when I've got some time to sit and watch and make sure nobody's getting hurt. There will be conflict of some sort.

Personally, I move mine to a big crate inside (after dark) where I can hear what's going on - some hens are lovely about sitting on eggs ... but don't know what to do about the wet little thing that pops out and tickles their undersides. Many hens are wonderful - and then there are a subset that will do awful things to the chicks, up to and including killing them. So, I just keep them where I can monitor things until she's accepted them.

But, at the very least, if you want to leave her where she's at, I would come up with something that will 1. keep the other hens out of her nest- including covering the top!!!, 2. will keep the babies from falling out of the nest... remember- the babies have no idea what's going on and will walk right off the edge and fall - and momma won't necessarily go down and rescue a chick that's fallen out.

Once they've hatched and are with the flock, momma hen will likely choose a corner of the coop for bedtime. You may have to help her with teaching the chicks about getting into and out of the coop for a day or two.

 

[536320]

Personally I would move her to her own protected space before hatching begins. Once the eggs have pipped, the shell is substantially weakened, so where things have been fine with chickens stepping on them, that can get really ugly really fast if it happens during the hatching process. Also, you never know what the other birds are going to think of the chicks.

For the first 2-3 days they have no real proactive self preservation thoughts in their little brains, which is natural - but it also means they have no instinct to get out of the way if the other birds peck them, or to stay out of harm's way if momma hen gets in a dust up. In the 4-6 day old stretch they start figuring this out and they're much quicker, so generally I wait until they're a week old before introducing momma and babies back to the flock. And I do it when I've got some time to sit and watch and make sure nobody's getting hurt. There will be conflict of some sort.

Personally, I move mine to a big crate inside (after dark) where I can hear what's going on - some hens are lovely about sitting on eggs ... but don't know what to do about the wet little thing that pops out and tickles their undersides. Many hens are wonderful - and then there are a subset that will do awful things to the chicks, up to and including killing them. So, I just keep them where I can monitor things until she's accepted them.

But, at the very least, if you want to leave her where she's at, I would come up with something that will 1. keep the other hens out of her nest- including covering the top!!!, 2. will keep the babies from falling out of the nest... remember- the babies have no idea what's going on and will walk right off the edge and fall - and momma won't necessarily go down and rescue a chick that's fallen out.

Once they've hatched and are with the flock, momma hen will likely choose a corner of the coop for bedtime. You may have to help her with teaching the chicks about getting into and out of the coop for a day or two.

Thanks. I only have the 1 hen and 1 rooster. Once she's done laying all her eggs, I will move her and the eggs to the box on the ground. I'm still new at this and learning as I go.