Is my coop safe for my hen to raise her chicks?

[Deegie]

Hello folks.

I thank you in advance for answering my questions in the past. As a result, we newbies have a healthy happy little flock that we think we would like to expand. We now have a new question.
Let me start by saying we have Buff Orpington Chickens. We have 11 hens and one Roo. They live in a well-ventilated 8 x 12 wood coop that my husband built. Due to the lay of the land and the rainfall we have every year. It was built off the ground allowing an extra 8 X 12 run space under the coop, though not much headroom for the chickens on the low end. On the high end, which is also the end that opens up to the run and the ramp for them to enter the coop there is a covered 10 X 16 run. The entire run is a foot or higher than the surrounding ground and we don't let them out to free range. The whole thing is enclosed with 1/2 inch hardware cloth that descends a foot below ground and a foot and a half out from the fence line and is buried. We have seen weasels, possums, rats, mice, snakes, and bobcats all try to get in. They have been unsuccessful.
Since we have been successful at this and our flock will be two years old in June. We want to let at least one of our hens raise chicks, we have a couple that want to sit their eggs both this year and last year.
So here is my question. Is my Coop safe for that? I believe in general it is. Especially from predators. But, I worry that the ramp the chickens use to get in and out of the coop is way too high for little ones. It is within inches of being three foot high. Also inside the coop, they have to jump up a foot to get on the threshold of the door to walk out onto the ramp to exit. The nesting boxes where the hens want to sit on the eggs to hatch them are about 18 inches above the floor of the coop. The floor of the coop is about 10 inches deep in pine pellets so I doubt a fall from there would hurt them and I could make a little ramp so they could get back up.. but all of this worries me. I am concerned if they fell out of the nest the mama could not get them back in... if they did manage to ever get outside they would fall three feet and die, if they did not die they would never get back in, etc etc etc. So what should I do? Should I build a separate brooding area? If so, should it be in the coop or out? On the ground or above it, how high? etc. Any help is appreciated. I think we have about a month or so since it is still really cold and snowing here. Sorry I don't have photos right now but I am snowed in and hubby is working

 

[FrostRanger]

A 3 foot fall especially onto woodchips is unlikely to hurt or kill a chick. I would make a ramp so they can get back up if they do get down. A separate brooding area in the coop wouldn't be a terrible idea as it would be useful for many things besides brooding. I think either way you should be fine

 

[Ridgerunner]

The nesting boxes where the hens want to sit on the eggs to hatch them are about 18 inches above the floor of the coop.

My hens regularly hatch in nests 2 feet or 4 feet above the coop floor. When it is time to bring the chicks down to the coop floor the hen hops down, tells the chicks to jump, and they do. Your 18" high is nothing. Once on the coop floor they never go back to those nests, they are too high. They sleep on the coop floor.

How big are your nests? The only time I have had a problem with the chicks falling down was when I used a cat litter bucket that measured 7-1/2" x 11-1/2" at the top. The nest was so small that when a chick climbed up on Mama's back and fell off Mama was so close to the side that it missed the nest and fell 4' to the coop floor. Four different times I had to pick a chick up and put it back in the nest with Mama, probably the same chick. That chick fell 4' and was not hurt. If your hen is not sitting right on the edge of the nest I don't see a problem. I retired that nest after the hatch was over.

I worry that the ramp the chickens use to get in and out of the coop is way too high for little ones. It is within inches of being three foot high.

A potential problem but not a huge problem. Not the height but how steep is that ramp? Can the chicks walk up it? If the hens can the chicks probably can also.

The first few days they are out can be a problem. Often the hen goes up on the ramp and some of the chicks do not follow her up but run under the ramp so she is 3' above them. They can't jump or fly that high at that age. They do not know to go to the base of the ramp to walk up. You need to be out there at bedtime to help them get up until they figure out how to use that ramp.

Also inside the coop, they have to jump up a foot to get on the threshold of the door to walk out onto the ramp to exit.

So build them steps. I use pavers (could use bricks) to build steps inside and outside of my pop door which is about a foot off of the coop floor and outside. (a ground level coop) You could build wooden steps or even a ramp.

So what should I do? Should I build a separate brooding area? If so, should it be in the coop or out?

Some people isolate a broody hen while incubating and while raising her chicks. Some in the coop, some out. I don't do that, I want my hens to raise the chicks with the flock, but nothing wrong with doing it a different way.

You need to gather all the eggs you want her to try hatching and start them at the same time so they will hatch together. If you let her incubate where the others can get to her nest you need to mark her eggs and check under her every day after the others have laid and remove any that are not marked. If you isolate her you need to lock her in there and keep all other chickens out. It needs to be predator safe. Provide food, water, and a nest. She doesn't need much more area, just some room to poop. She should know by instinct to not poop in her nest but that instinct does not apply to food or water so set it up so you can clean it when you need to.

The hen needs enough room to raise her chicks. They tend to keep the chicks separated from the flock, you should have enough room for that. At some point the hen will wean her chicks and leave them all alone to take care of themselves. I've had hens wean their chicks at 3 weeks, I've had some not wean then until almost 3 months. They form a separate flock and stay away from the adults until they are old enough to join. For my pullets that is generally when they start to lay. You will need a plan for what to do with cockerels. While anything is possible with living animals it may be hard to keep your rooster and the cockerels once those boys reach a certain level of maturity.

Good luck!

 

[Mrs. K]

You sound like you are off to a good start. Pictures would also help us help you.

Now, when you are blessed with a broody hen...WAIT!! The hardest wait in your life. Thing is, most of the broody hens I have had, think about being broody, look broody - I would immediately put eggs under her, she would change her mind, and 3 days later, when I didn't have enough eggs, then she would get serious.

So wait until she sits in the nest for 2 nights, then set the eggs. I have had BO hatch out 12 eggs in mid summer. If you are setting earlier or later than that, or if your hen is smaller, I have had better luck setting 8 eggs.

Also know, not every egg will hatch - in fact years ago, there was an ongoing thread here, where people would add the number of eggs they set to the thread total. Then do the same with the eggs that hatched, dividing the hatch by the eggs set -- and it became pretty consistent 50%. An average means that there is better percents and worse percents. I figure anything above 50% is good.

Also know, that 50% of those that do hatch will be male, and you really cannot keep all the males successfully. Can you harvest birds? Because that is the other part of chicken math, yes it is fun to add birds, but you also need to cull birds. One can cheat in the summer. The days are long, and chicks are small. But come the long nights of winter, the number of birds needs to fit in the coop. Free ranging during the short days will do nothing for ugly behaviors in too small of space. (You are starting with a lot of space, so not an issue yet).

As usual, Ridgerunner offers good advice for the coop modification and marking eggs for in the flock raising of chicks, follow that advice.

Mrs K