I have a hen sitting on two eggs. Hatch date should be about Sunday. Problem Is, the box she is sitting in is about 3 feet off the ground. Should I move her to a box on the ground so when the chicks hatch they can get out? Also, should I separate her from the rest of the flock? (7 hens, 1 roo, 40 sq ft inside, 64 sq feet outside space) My only other space (64 additional sq ft outside) houses my 8wk old turkey poults. I'd have to put her in a dog crate of something.
Kywest, I had a next box up high and I put some hay on the floor so if the chick did fall out it would be ok. I also made a play pen once the chick was hatched. The Momma bird didn't take him out for a while so I put food and water in there as well. She was sitting on eggs that eventually never hatched. In this coop all the birds free range. No one bothered the hen during the day or night when the others came in to either lay or sleep. Right now I have a hen sitting on 15 eggs. As far as I can tell 4 hatched. These birds do not free range. No one has bothered her yet. Even the hen that was laying eggs on top of her finally laid an egg in the nest box next store! Sooooo, I don't think at this point you will have to move your hen. If you see a problem then I suggest go right ahead. If all seems ok then hang in there. Just watch to see how your birds are behaving and check on the Momma bird each day. I check on mine several times a day. Only because I just can't help it BTW, the playpen worked out fantastic! As soon as the Momma bird started taking JR out I took it down and they nested under the nest boxes. A couple of times I had to put Jr in the playpen at the end of the day since he couldn't get into it. The Momma bird was really good with me coming so close.
If you move the hen before the eggs are hatched, she will likely abandon the eggs, so i wouldn't mess with her right now. I prefer to have them brood in isolation, but that's no always possible, so what i have done in the past.... is to just make a barrier over the particular nest box the hen is in - like nail a piece of chicken wire over the entrance - anything to keep mama from taking her chicks for a "walk" off of a 3 foot cliff. Once the chicks have hatched, you can move mama and babies anywhere you want them to be, and she will stay with her chicks.
