What does a broody hen do with her chicks in the first week after they hatch?

[SweetieChicken234]

I'm trying to figure out if the best place to keep my hen and her chicks is in the run or in the coop. Does the hen take the chicks out much in the first week? Or do they stay mostly in the coop?

My coop is secure. Nothing gets in. My run is not fully secure. Small animals like rats get in. I need to get the rats under control. It's very secure with hardware cloth against big animals. I don't know how much space a hen with new chicks needs or if she prefers to roam around much. I'm going to go through the run when I have more time and money and seal up the tiny spots.

I know in the first week my baby chicks pretty much just eat, drink and stay under the brooder plate. Seems the broody hen and chicks will be the same. I can let the broody outside with her chicks when I'm home as they get into the second week if that's when the broody takes the chicks out. This is my first broody and I need to learn the process of how the hen cares for the chicks.

The heat is going to be maybe an issue. It's hotter with the coop door closed sometimes. Depends on the humidity that day. The baby chicks should be fine but the hen may need to cool down.

I'm considering all options and best case situation for the hen and chicks.

 

[Evadig]

My hen kept them in the nesting box for at least 4 days and in the coop itself for a week more. They’re three weeks old now, (I think) and she’s just now taking them further away from the coop.

 

[SweetieChicken234]

My hen kept them in the nesting box for at least 4 days and in the coop itself for a week more. They’re three weeks old now, (I think) and she’s just now taking them further away from the coop.

That's good news. I have a secondary coop I built inside my run. The rest of my flock can stay inside the run and I can keep the broody and chicks inside the coop for awhile. I can let the flock out in the day to eat grass also and just keep the hen and chicks locked in the coop safely.

 

[Cockadoodledinos]

I agree with Evadig. I've got a broody right now with 3 day olds and she doesn't seem to want to move much at all, so I've got food and water within reach of her neck and the chicks are using her as a bed/tent/jungle gym. I'd make sure they can't wander too far from her and get "lost" or stuck in any little places. One of mine managed to get flipped on its back in a crack between objects that was no wider than my finger! Luckily we found it and fixed that. Mama hens are wonderful though, I love how happy the little families are! And sure saves me a lot of work. My last 2 trained week old chicks to go up a ramp into the coop at nighttime the very first day they tried - amazing.

 

[SweetieChicken234]

I agree with Evadig. I've got a broody right now with 3 day olds and she doesn't seem to want to move much at all, so I've got food and water within reach of her neck and the chicks are using her as a bed/tent/jungle gym. I'd make sure they can't wander too far from her and get "lost" or stuck in any little places. One of mine managed to get flipped on its back in a crack between objects that was no wider than my finger! Luckily we found it and fixed that. Mama hens are wonderful though, I love how happy the little families are! And sure saves me a lot of work. My last 2 trained week old chicks to go up a ramp into the coop at nighttime the very first day they tried - amazing.

Wow that's great. Mother hens are incredible. The only problem I have is my nesting area is too narrow for the food and water drinker. I will need to improvise or move her to the floor of the coop in a corner. I have a nesting trough not a box. Unless I can move a baby chick feeder and drinker in that little space. I have a door that folds down over the nest box area for privacy so perhaps I can hold that open and add a bit of a "tray" for food and water. I will see what I can manage to do there.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

My last 2 trained week old chicks to go up a ramp into the coop at nighttime the very first day they tried

Amazing! I wonder if they can hop up onto things, like ramps with one end on a 4x4 wood chunk if momma calls them or did the ramp start at floor level?

 

[Cockadoodledinos]

Amazing! I wonder if they can hop up onto things, like ramps with one end on a 4x4 wood chunk if momma calls them or did the ramp start at floor level?

Mine are silkies so they're teeny tiny, but yeah they can hop/flap to climb pretty good by a week, and yes the mama calls to them to follow her. You can always put a brick or something to make a smaller step to give them a little help. They don't weigh much so even a little pile of sticks can be a good step stool

 

[Cockadoodledinos]

Wow that's great. Mother hens are incredible. The only problem I have is my nesting area is too narrow for the food and water drinker. I will need to improvise or move her to the floor of the coop in a corner. I have a nesting trough not a box. Unless I can move a baby chick feeder and drinker in that little space. I have a door that folds down over the nest box area for privacy so perhaps I can hold that open and add a bit of a "tray" for food and water. I will see what I can manage to do there.

They are the best. I'd never use "mother hen" as anything but a compliment now! Yeah I put a quail waterer and baby chick jar-type feeder in their space, my hen is small enough she can daintily use them. I just have to check often to make sure they haven't been knocked over.

 

[PrettyCoolChicks]

I have my first broody too, and a similar set up with a safe coop but not 100% safe run. Chicks are a bit over a week old now.

I've blocked off half the coop for them for the first week. Mama showed them where to eat, drink and sat nearby a lot for when they wanted to warm up and didn't look for a way out of her half of the coop until yesterday. She's taken them outside yesterday for the first (supervised) time and the babies all spread out to explore - it's quite warm so they only huddled up while waiting for mama to finish her dust bath, but if any called, she went back for it - like one not finding the way out the coop at first or losing sight of mama on the other side of a stump. It was so cute!

Just make sure that the chicks can jump any steps in and out. Mine couldn't find the "door" back out of the separated area of the coop when mama decided it was time to go out and back in and I need a small ramp into the coop until they're 3-4 weeks.

Whatever you decide to go with, it should be lots of fun to watch the little family together

 

[Ridgerunner]

I typically have three or four broody hens hatch each year. I let mine hatch in the coop with the flock without isolating them. My nests are either 2 feet or 4 feet above the coop floor.

Some broody hatches are over within 24 hours of the first one hatching and the hen brings them off of the nest. She says jump and they do, then bounce up and run to her. Some hens don't bring the chicks off of the nest until well into the third day after the first one hatches. It is nice when they all hatch about the same time, those hatches that drag out can get stressful for me but I leave that decision up to the hen.

My coop is 8 feet x 12 feet. The pop door is about 12" above the coop floor and the run outside. No ramps. My hens typically keep the chicks inside the coop for two to three days after bringing them off of the nest before venturing outside. I keep food and water on the floor where the chicks can get to them. I use pavers and build steps both on the inside and on the outside of the pop door so the chicks can hop up.

With my nests so high the chicks do not go back to the nest at night. The broody takes them to sleep on the coop floor. Once she starts taking them out during the day they go out in the morning and come back in at dark to sleep in the coop. My area outside is over 2,000 square feet so lots of room.

I don't know what your coop looks like. How big it is, is it elevated or on the ground, a ramp, any of that. Regardless it is a good idea to be out there when they are going to bed to make sure all the chicks make it in with the broody hen. The first few nights you may need to help, especially if it is elevated with a ramp. They will soon figure it out but even with my steps I've had to help a couple of times.

Each brood of chicks is different, even if they are the same breeds. The same broody can be different with different broods. Some broody hens can be better than others but the majority are really good at taking care of their chicks. I use weasel words like "typically" a lot because each brood and each hen can be different. I had one broody not take her chicks outside for a week after coming off of the nest for example. Good luck with yours.