Where should my broody hen sleep with her new chicks?

[HappyChickenDaddy]

I have a broody hen with newly hatched chicks, and I intend to keep her with the main flock and not intervene too much. The box she laid her eggs in is raised off the ground. Once she jumps down with her chicks, where will they sleep? It's still cold here in Australia, about 8-12 degrees C at night.

 

[CuzChickens]

Well, that depends on the facilities you have for them...Best case scenario you put them in separate quarters for a few weeks. Do you have a smaller coop you could put them in? A broody coop doesn't have to be large, it can be as small as 4'x4' for the first week or two, but of course you'll need a larger spot as the babies grow. I put my mom and her babies back in the main coop when they are about 5 weeks old, but that will vary depending on the size of your flock and the birds in your flock.

 

[HappyChickenDaddy]

Well, that depends on the facilities you have for them...Best case scenario you put them in separate quarters for a few weeks. Do you have a smaller coop you could put them in? A broody coop doesn't have to be large, it can be as small as 4'x4' for the first week or two, but of course you'll need a larger spot as the babies grow. I put my mom and her babies back in the main coop when they are about 5 weeks old, but that will vary depending on the size of your flock and the birds in your flock.

Thanks for the info! Do they have to be in a separate area? I'm interested in letting them stay with the main flock, as there are a few generations in this flock that grew up that way (it's my partner's parents' flock). But I'm concerned that when the broody jumps down from the nesting box with the chicks, they won't be able to get back up there to sleep, and obviously they can't roost. Do I make up a little box on the floor of the flock's roosting place? It's not very clean!

 

[Spiderduck]

I have my mother hen sleep im a box on the ground with her chicks that way its easy for the chicks to get in and out.
I also place a bit of straw to line it.

Hope that helps. (A lot of experience with new chicks) let me know if you want to know something else.

 

[CuzChickens]

Thanks for the info! Do they have to be in a separate area? I'm interested in letting them stay with the main flock, as there are a few generations in this flock that grew up that way (it's my partner's parents' flock). But I'm concerned that when the broody jumps down from the nesting box with the chicks, they won't be able to get back up there to sleep, and obviously they can't roost. Do I make up a little box on the floor of the flock's roosting place? It's not very clean!

You can try that, the adult members of the flock may try to peck the babies, so hopefully your birds will be accepting of the babies, and you have a protective mom. I would make a box on the floor the babies can easily get in and out of. Is the coop raised? If so, make sure there is a ramp for the babies to go up and down. How many other birds are in your flock?

 

[azygous]

A nest box on the floor is ideal for a broody and her chicks. That way they can safely hop in and out of the nest. I built a roomy nest in one corner for my broody. I happen to have two coops, and I partitioned off half of the smaller one with plastic deer netting for the little family to be safe.

 

[azygous]

One side note. I don't know how other broodies are with their chicks, but mine is super protective, and gets very wound up when she thinks the other flock members are threatening her chicks. It really stresses her out, and sometimes the skirmishes end up scattering the tiny chicks, even trampling them.

For this reason, I provide a separate outdoor area for the broody and her chicks for the first two weeks. They are in view of the flock, but safe from them. After the chicks reach two weeks, I open up their daytime pen to the rest of the run so they can begin to mingle with the flock.

When it appears the flock is making my broody crazy with concern for her chicks, I herd them back to their safe area and close it off for the remainder of the day.

As I said, other broodies may handle integrating their chicks with more of a laid-back attitude than mine, who happens to be bossy and a control freak by nature. Everyone needs to do what's best for their broody and her chicks.

 

[HappyChickenDaddy]

I've put a box down on the floor of the coop, lined with straw. One question, the floor is covered in chicken poo - should I clear it all out? Is it a hazard for new chicks to be sleeping near the ground if it's covered in chook poo?

I have my mother hen sleep im a box on the ground with her chicks that way its easy for the chicks to get in and out.
I also place a bit of straw to line it.

Hope that helps. (A lot of experience with new chicks) let me know if you want to know something else.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I also agree with minimum interference. I find the more I interfere the more harm I potentially do. Broody hens have been doing this a long time without human help.

I let my broodies hatch with the flock in nests a bit above the coop floor. After they hatch and the broody brings them off the nest, I have food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to them. That's pretty much the end of my helping Mama raise the chicks.

It will depend on your facilities, but what usually happens with mine is that Mama keeps them in the coop for a couple of days before she takes them outside. My pop door is about a foot above the floor so I use pavers to build a staircase for them inside and out to get up and down. That may have an effect on how long it is before she takes them outside. After she takes them outside, she pretty much takes them outside every day all day.

At night they sleep on the coop floor, usually in a corner but sometimes she just beds down with them right in the middle. I do not provide boxes, nests, or anything else. I find Mama doesn't need them. The hen brings them in before dark. The hen provides all the warmth they need.

Sometimes, when my coop is pretty crowded, I put the hen and chicks in an outside shelter in the run after she brings them off the nest. If I leave them locked in that shelter for two or three days and nights Mama will take them there to sleep instead of back in the coop. I can lock them up safe from predators. When I'm comfortable Mama has imprinted on that shelter as where she should take the chicks, I just let her and the chicks roam with the flock during the day. I do have a nest I put in there for Mama to use. Sometimes the broody hens use that nest, sometimes she doesn't. The purpose of that nest is to give Mama a dry place to go in case it rains hard enough to flood.

I don't know what your coop looks like or how much room you have outside either. I don't know if one way is better for you compared to any other way. There are benefits, inconveniences, and risks associated with any of them. I find the more room they have the easier the entire process goes. The broody needs some room to work but the time the extra room really comes in handy is after the hen weans them and leaves them alone to make their way with the flock. She has already taken care of basic integration so I don't have to worry about that, but they still have to manage their pecking order issues. In warmer weather I've had broody hens wean their chicks as young as three weeks and they've made their way with the flock fine, but I have lots of room.

 

[azygous]

Regarding chicken poop on the floor of the coop being a hazard to the new chicks, probably it isn't, but if there's a serious accumulation of poop over a long period, you might want to shovel it out periodically for the overall health of your flock.