Rooster question

[Ridgerunner]

I’ve seen a broody hen get chicks out of a ten feet high hay loft, she said jump and they did, then bounced up and ran to her. I regularly have hens hatch chicks in a nest that is about three feet off the coop floor. They have never had problems getting the chicks down. They do not return to the nest to sleep of course, she takes them to a corner of the coop floor. The height of the nest is not an issue in my book but it really bothers some people to think about it.

One issue might be how big the nest is. I once had a broody hatch chicks in a per litter bucket with the top 7-1/2” x 11-1/2”. The top was about 3-1/2 feet off the coop floor. The first baby chicks that hatch often like to climb up on top of Mama. Mountain climbing can be great fun for them to reduce boredom while waiting on the later ones to hatch. I had to pick up chicks four times and put them back in the nest with the broody. That nest was so small the chicks would miss the nest when they slid off of Mama. I don’t have that problem with my other nests and this one has since been retired. So how close to the edge will she be sitting? That would be my only concern.

If you wish to move a broody I suggest you build a pen that is a real prison. You want to absolutely prevent her from returning to her first nest if she wants to and you want to keep other hens out of her nest. The area does not need to be very big, just room enough for a nest and some food and water. Broody hens should know to not poop in the nest and mess up the eggs but they have no compunction about pooping in food or water so be prepared to clean it some. It’s best to move her before you give her hatching eggs to see if she will accept the move, some don’t. Lots of people regularly move broody hens and usually don’t have big problems, but occasionally one really does not accept the move.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ve seen a broody hen get chicks out of a ten feet high hay loft, she said jump and they did, then bounced up and ran to her. I regularly have hens hatch chicks in a nest that is about three feet off the coop floor. They have never had problems getting the chicks down. They do not return to the nest to sleep of course, she takes them to a corner of the coop floor. The height of the nest is not an issue in my book but it really bothers some people to think about it.

One issue might be how big the nest is. I once had a broody hatch chicks in a per litter bucket with the top 7-1/2” x 11-1/2”. The top was about 3-1/2 feet off the coop floor. The first baby chicks that hatch often like to climb up on top of Mama. Mountain climbing can be great fun for them to reduce boredom while waiting on the later ones to hatch. I had to pick up chicks four times and put them back in the nest with the broody. That nest was so small the chicks would miss the nest when they slid off of Mama. I don’t have that problem with my other nests and this one has since been retired. So how close to the edge will she be sitting? That would be my only concern.

If you wish to move a broody I suggest you build a pen that is a real prison. You want to absolutely prevent her from returning to her first nest if she wants to and you want to keep other hens out of her nest. The area does not need to be very big, just room enough for a nest and some food and water. Broody hens should know to not poop in the nest and mess up the eggs but they have no compunction about pooping in food or water so be prepared to clean it some. It’s best to move her before you give her hatching eggs to see if she will accept the move, some don’t. Lots of people regularly move broody hens and usually don’t have big problems, but occasionally one really does not accept the move.

 

[Peter.J]

Ok wow, didn’t know chics could make that kind of a jump and live! Also wondered how they would get food initially, maybe mom comes back up with some in her gullet. Well maybe i’ll Just let nature take its course and just monitor things. If anything if she ends up preferring the coop floor i can make a little nest box for her down there. It would all be secure; within the same coop/run. I made the whole thing with woven wire horse fence and 4x4 timbers so its pretty predator proof... They’re all just pullets and the one cockerel at this point but i’m Hoping by spring that i get a broody hen with a clutch of eggs. Ideally i’d Like a flock that self propagates from time to time.
We just moved from the city to a rural area so roosters were not an option before with my previous flocks. Looking forward to having one around, i like how they look and sound, and the fertile eggs and flock protection are great benefits!
Thanks for everyone’s input.

 

[aart]

Which brings up another question; i realized after building my nest boxes that the setup may not work for chic rearing. I built them all up high with the lowest ones at 4’ high.

Why so high?

Welcome back to BYC!
If you contact a moderator,they might be able to get your old account back open.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Aart, I find that people worry about nest height a lot more than chickens do, just like a lot of other things on here. Some people are very happy putting a box of some type on the floor, some like them higher. If I had a bad back where bending over was painful I'd want them higher. If I collected eggs from outside the coop, I'd want it at a convenient height to check to for eggs, higher if the door were hinged a the top, lower if it were hinged at he bottom. Some people wan the nests high enough off the floor so the chickens have the extra floor space. Some people stack their nests, one row above another so they can get pretty high.

I don't know why Peter.J wants the nests that high but I believe the nests should be convenient for people. The chickens can adapt. I'm important too.

Aart, would you expect any different type of answer from me? You should know me that well.

 

[aart]

I don't know why Peter.J wants the nests that high but I believe the nests should be convenient for people. The chickens can adapt. I'm important too.

Aart, would you expect any different type of answer from me? You should know me that well.

I would not expect any different type of answer from you ...
.....but I wasn't asking you

Yep, heights should be convenient for the keeper and functional for the birds.
There are many variables to consider and that's why I asked instead of spouting off any 'rules of thumb'. Tho some of those rules of thumb contain a lot of logic and often apply to and solve problems.

 

[Peter.J]

Aart, this coop/run has been a mish mash of buying what I absolutely had to and trying to re-purpose what i can. I’m using milk crates for the egg boxes. When i was looking at where i wanted to put them i noticed the roof rafters were perfectly spaced to make a frame for 3 milk crates wide so i just made a framework that hangs from the roof. I may just keep building it down. Or i may just wait till i get a broody hen on eggs and then just move her down to a lower box at that point. Only 1 laying hen now, the rest are 14 pullets, so luckily i don’t think this will be an issue for a while. I wouldn’t really want to try and raise chics via hens until spring/summer anyhow... here’s a pic of the egg boxes and the coop/run as a hole.

 

[aart]

I can see why you did what you did, and it might work out for you, but....
The reason I asked is:
There's a 'rule of thumb' to have to roosts at least a foot higher than the nests,
as they like to roost as high as possible,
so they won't roost(sleep) and poop in the nests.
You may need to add some perches about 8" in front of nests that they can land on before entering the nests, they might not be able to fly into a 12" opening.

 

[Peter.J]

Yeah, i noticed that the first few nights after getting pullets, 3 of them crammed into one box, but after 4 nights of moving them back onto the roosts they got the picture. Just one RIR wants to still go in there. Yeah I was thinking of adding a perch in front of the boxes, which may also help with them wanting to roost in the box. Its definitely a work in progress.
We’ll see what habits the birds develop as they grow up, i may end up having to move the nest boxes all together...

 

[Mrs. K]

Just a couple of points - I did have Bielefelder rooster. He was a very nice rooster, but he was not real active in the fertility department. When I check on the Bielefelder page on this forum, it was a common complaint.

As for the milk crates, I too, have tried them, and they just did not work all that well for me. I like to put hay in them, and it just did not work well. I lined them with cardboard, which did help some, but I went back to wooden nests.

As for broody hens, I have never had good luck moving a broody hen. She moves back and looses the clutch. Mine have all been about 4 feet off the ground, it is a non issue, they are like thistle down when they come off the nest. After the chicks hatch, that nest is very dirty, and will smell of old shells, and the dampness of freshly hatched chicks. My hens have always left the nest in about 24 hours, and made a new nest on the floor of the coop. I have tried numerous times to build a nest for her, down there, but she never thinks much of my work. Once in Early November, I let her build the nest, and when they were out, I cut two sides out of a cardboard box, pointed that corner to the NW, and put her nest back in it, to keep the draft off them, and she did use it.

Good luck

Mrs k