Hello 
I have 10 hens and one went broody so a friend gave me some of her fertilized eggs to place under her and 2 hatched successfully, they’ll be a week old tomorrow (9/16/24).
I placed the nesting box into a large dog crate and placed it on the floor of the coop. So far, so good… There is hemp bedding on the floor and I clean the coop twice a day.
Mama spreads out the food in the hemp bedding so she’s been teaching the babies how to forage.
I have a camera set up so I can watch during the day while I’m at work.
I leave the crate door open while I clean the rest of the coop and only once did Mama freak out on another hen who tried to get into the crate to peck at some food, otherwise, no issues with the other hens.
Please note the layout of my coop from the photos. I have a concrete floor with a drain for easy cleaning. Above it is a shelf and the roosting bar and nesting boxes sit above that. The shelf has a little bit of a lip to keep the hemp bedding contained.
The automatic door to let everyone outside into the run sits a little above the shelf floor. There is no door for them to get out into the rest of the barn (just a people door) they have to fly over the run fence to get out to forage in the pasture. The run is mainly for my rabbits and the floor consists of Bahamian limestone pebbles. Since the chickens spend little time in the run, I accommodated the rabbits with the pebbles to keep the run clean.
The issue i am thinking about is how to integrate the baby chicks and get them up on the shelf without them falling off.
Originally, the nesting box was sitting on the shelf with the other two boxes I have up there. That specific box is THE FAVORITE nesting box of all the hens. They were upset while Mama was broody sitting on the eggs in that particular box. They crawled in there and laid their eggs on top of her as she was broody.
Two of the fertilized eggs were smashed, and one of those eggs had a chick in it. By the time I found it, it was dead.
I’m not sure what to do because the favorite box is in the crate on the floor and Mama sleeps/rests in there with the chicks.
I’m afraid if I put Mama and the box and chicks back up on the shelf, the other hens will harass Mama and possibly injure the chicks. I have to get them out of the dog crate and up on the shelf so Mama can take them out into the run to forage. Not sure when or what to do and I would appreciate any advice, thank you!
I have 10 hens and one went broody so a friend gave me some of her fertilized eggs to place under her and 2 hatched successfully, they’ll be a week old tomorrow (9/16/24).
I placed the nesting box into a large dog crate and placed it on the floor of the coop. So far, so good… There is hemp bedding on the floor and I clean the coop twice a day.
Mama spreads out the food in the hemp bedding so she’s been teaching the babies how to forage.
I have a camera set up so I can watch during the day while I’m at work.
I leave the crate door open while I clean the rest of the coop and only once did Mama freak out on another hen who tried to get into the crate to peck at some food, otherwise, no issues with the other hens.
Please note the layout of my coop from the photos. I have a concrete floor with a drain for easy cleaning. Above it is a shelf and the roosting bar and nesting boxes sit above that. The shelf has a little bit of a lip to keep the hemp bedding contained.
The automatic door to let everyone outside into the run sits a little above the shelf floor. There is no door for them to get out into the rest of the barn (just a people door) they have to fly over the run fence to get out to forage in the pasture. The run is mainly for my rabbits and the floor consists of Bahamian limestone pebbles. Since the chickens spend little time in the run, I accommodated the rabbits with the pebbles to keep the run clean.
The issue i am thinking about is how to integrate the baby chicks and get them up on the shelf without them falling off.
Originally, the nesting box was sitting on the shelf with the other two boxes I have up there. That specific box is THE FAVORITE nesting box of all the hens. They were upset while Mama was broody sitting on the eggs in that particular box. They crawled in there and laid their eggs on top of her as she was broody.
Two of the fertilized eggs were smashed, and one of those eggs had a chick in it. By the time I found it, it was dead.
I’m not sure what to do because the favorite box is in the crate on the floor and Mama sleeps/rests in there with the chicks.
I’m afraid if I put Mama and the box and chicks back up on the shelf, the other hens will harass Mama and possibly injure the chicks. I have to get them out of the dog crate and up on the shelf so Mama can take them out into the run to forage. Not sure when or what to do and I would appreciate any advice, thank you!
