[suziequeue]

Our bantam went broody at the end of the sumer so we stuck a couple of eggs under her - not expecting much and she has hatched out a chick the other day.


She was in her broody run but abandoned the inside of the hutch and was sitting outside in the run with the chick under her wing. When I checked last night they were still there so I brought them in as it is getting colder now.


Why do you think she won't go inside the hutch? It looks fine. I'll spray and clean it out today (although it's not that dirty inside).


Any suggestions? I sdon;'t really want the chick growing up on the windowsill!!

[goosepimple]

She probably realises that if she roosts the wee one can't get up with her yet - can you make a wee ramp (rather than a ladder) that the wee one can get up to the perch? 
 
We have small (but not bantam) marsh daisy that keeps her two with her in a guinea pig run.  She free ranges with them during the day but goes back in the gp run at night as there's not perch, her two chicks are getting quite big now not babies.
 
For a long time we had free range hens that used to roost in the trees - they would stay on the ground with the chicks until we put up a ramp, then the babies learnt to climb the ramp with their mums and their mums would sit on a tree branch with her wings spread over her young.
 
I wouldn't worry about the cold yet, they'll be fine for a month or so and chicky will be bigger by then. 

[suziequeue]

Thanks GP. There's no perch in the broody hutch..... but there is a GINORMOUS POO!!!!! just by the entrance so maybe that's putting her off going back in.... I shall give it a god clean out this afternoon and see if I can entice her back in.


I don't really want her camping out in the run as rats and things can burrow under the sides and make off with the little one.


But I will make sure that there is an easy gradient between the run and the hutch entrance. Maybe the chick couldn't get back up it. I didn't check that.

[roddycm]

Maybe mites?

[suziequeue]

Yes - I have given it a good spray and have always put down loads of DE etc. I can't see any obvious signs but I will put her back in there this afternoon and see what she does.


There did seem to be quite  a step up to the hutch bit from the run so the may not have been able to get back in. We have put a stepping stone there now so.....


 

[goosepimple]

Hopefully that was it, mind you a ginormous poo at my front door would put me off too