Newly hatched babies !!! Please tell me Im doing this right !!!!

[renewistrombaker]

Hi
We gave my broody RIR 3 fertile eggs to sit on- 2 banty and 1 RIR 21 days ago. Well one banty has hatched (oh my, so cute !!).
I have her in a cardboard box IN the coop and its lined with her oat hay nest that I moved into the box 3 days ago (thats what they use to lay their eggs in and seem to love it) and I put a chick waterer in there and some crumbles for the hen. The other banty egg is starting to hatch now. She seems to be a good mom and the baby is tucked under her. She lets me peek now and then. I think the RIR egg is a dud (we candled at day 16)
So, I know nature takes its course and I think I want to just let her be with her babies in the box in the hen house- its warm, draft free and she has privacy and food and water.
But when I read on line I see all these issues like "curled feet" and you have to put pipe cleaners on the babys toes !! Or that the baby could suffocate or the unhatched eggs that didnt develop could explode so they need to be removed... yadda yadda yadda
I have 3 other RIR that putter around the yard and sit in the coop at night on a perch. The mom is in the hen house in her box safe from them interfering. So, so far so good.......

Tell me
What do I need to do to make sure these chicks do dandy? Just leave the set up as is? Am I doing everything right? I know that there are many factors that can cause chicks to die but I want to ensure the best care for them so they survive (barring any genetic issues of course)

ANy input is GREATLY appreciated

Thanks so much for reading !!! IM so excited

Rene'

 

[perolane]

Sounds like you've got it all covered. After that 2nd egg hatches (since you're sure the last egg is a dud), I'd turn that box on it's side so Mom can take the babies out & proceed to teach them about the world. She'll protect them from the others. Good luck!!

 

[Bloomie]

from the boonies.

Bein' new to hatchin' I also search out info on BYC......from what I've read it sounds like ya have the right set up and just need to make sure the Mama hen and babies can get out of that box ya have the nest in so they can do exactly what Perolane wrote ya.

My set up is a bit differnt...but it basically the same idea as what yer doin'.
I have a broody hen settin' on 5 eggs, in a separate wire broody pen within the chicken run (we're in the desert with warm days & nites).
When the chicks hatch they all can be seen by the other chickens thru the wire without bein' hassled. When the times right they can al intermingle, hopefully with out too much squabblin'.

Happy Hatchin'

 

[renewistrombaker]

Hi girls ! Thanks for replying. Phew

Ok so i have a coop and inside that coop is a hen house with a ramp (about 2 feet off the ground) The coop is also up another foot on a raised bed in the garden. So I let her take them down the ramp then down the other ramp to the garden where there are the other 3 hens?? Im so worried they will fall off the ramp of the hens could get them. They are soooo tiny.

Also, momma hen pecked a bit at the #1 baby as it was cruising around the box and it was peeping like mad. I picked it up and it stopped right away. Shes going to be good to it right? Some pecking ok? She seems like a good mom

Thanks for advice- Ill check back for more answers

Rene'

 

[elmo]

The ideal arrangement, I think, is to have a separate area for the broody hen to raise her chicks with feed (chick starter, of course) and water nearby, and a nest that the chicks can easily get in and out of.

Personally, I'd really be worried about having the ramp situation you describe, not so much about falling but about the chicks making their way back up to the nesting box at night. You'd hope that the hen would just nest on the ground if her chicks couldn't make it back up, but if one manages and the other doesn't, I'd worry about the one left behind getting chilled.

One of my hens hatched her clutch in a covered kitty litter box this spring, but I was worried that the lip on the box was too high for the chicks to get back inside, so I fashioned a step for them while they were little and made sure all were in every night before it got dark.

 

[renewistrombaker]

Hi Elmo
Thanks for input. I agree
I moved the cardboard box with her nest and babies down on the ground of the coop and slightly under it so its got a "roof". I made a partition so she owns one half of the coop

Its nifty cuz the hen house ramp still is attached and just goes over the partition so the others can still go up to lay. I tore one wall down of the box so they can walk in and out. Water, crumbles for chick, meal worms for her and I think its good.

Its all I can do I think.

Rene'

 

[Bloomie]

Quote:
I'm learnin' right along with ya, Rene'. My henhouse is on level ground with the pop-out door leadin' to the run, so I never gave thought to that situation.

Ya made some good changes.

 

[woodmort]

You're worrying too much--momma hen will watch the little ones and, undoubtedly, integrate them into the flock. Also if the third egg is a dud, she'll know and ignore it once the others have hatched.