Unexpected behaviors and training

i just brought three Buckeyes home and am really excited to make a great place for them. They are my first chickens (born over Easter) and I have a coop set up that has pretty small run enclosed with it. The coop is in an inner fenced corner of my fenced backyard. My plan is to have them free range the entire area during the day. I'd like some advice on managing them these first few weeks. I had a really difficult time getting them in the coop last night and had to chase them down which I've now read probably realllly scared them. I also read recommendations that I should keep them in the coop/enclosed run for a week so they get used to this new home. Thus far, they haven't gone into the coop section where there are two roosts. They just huddle in a corner of the bottom (it's dirt ground underneath). They are eating and drinking but show no signs of coming out of the huddle unless they are eating. This will be their second night in the ground vs in the coop on the roosts. I have pine bedding, about 3 inches thick on the coop area. The nearing box is empty since the are to young to lay and I don't want to encourage them to hang there.

Any thoughts on their behavior? Something that just needs to be waited out? I bought a feeder and water container that are smaller so they fit better while I'm keeping them contained this week. During the day I put a larger water container and their food in. At night I take the food back, hoping that im encouraging them to associate food and their coop.

Any thoughts/advice would be much appreciated.

It is good to keep them cooped up for a few days,
then allow into the run for a few days making them go into coop at night to roost,
then, if they are going into the coop to roost at night, allow them to free range.

......BUT....

That coop is barely big enough for 2 chickens let alone 3....that's probably why they don't want to be in there...and I see no good ventilation.

ETA...you've fallen, as many have, to the manufacturers claims of prefab coops being adequate housing. They are always too small, frequently not well made with quality materials, and depending on your climate, could fall apart within 6 months to a year.

I would seriously look into building a bigger coop and save this one for raising chicks or isolating a bird if needed for whatever reason.

Thanks for the input, after two days of use, we'd decided that we'd want a better and more functional coop for us, especially since we have the space.

That's still a couple of weeks out though, I'm hoping I make do until then with this one? I bought it off Craiglist from a woman who had 6 quail in there, and with the measurements of space needed for chickens I thought I was providing them at least with what some would call cozy?

I really want to get these first few weeks right, and have to make do with this coop until we can build out a new one ourselves.

That size will work well for three pullets if they get plenty of free run time. You only need to keep them in this small run/coop until they start going to the coop to roost at night on their own. It may only take a few days and may take close to week but they'll figure it out and once they do you can let them roam your yard and they'll always return to the coop at dusk.

Glad to hear it'll work. They will get range time pretty much from dawn till dusk. We'll still upgrade the coop in time (definitely before the colder months here in Virginia).

Should I be placing them in the roost spot at night? Or just let them do their thing for a week inside the run? They were happy little birds when roaming the entire space, but I really don't want to have to chase them again. The huddling behaviour makes me think they are terrified of me.

You'll have to put them in the coop each night until they go into it themselves. Keeping them confined in run will make that tack easier on you. Being older birds they likely have cooped before they should get into cooping themselves quickly. My recent batch of 5 week old birds that came out of brooder took 6 days to coop themselves. It's a pain to grab them and put them in but you'll be glad when they are trained on the coop and you don't want them to get used to sleeping outside. It will stop them from roosting in trees around your yard which is a real pain to get them down from.

I agree on the too-small size, but that's been covered already. I'm also not seeing how they're supposed to get into the coop? Is there a ramp or something I'm not noticing? They're not going to just fly up to that tiny hole in the wall and somehow get in there. Back to too small, I'm not sure there is enough horizontal room for a chicken to get enough lift off to get that high---does that make sense?

Sorry! There is a ramp, it wasn't attached in the photo (but it is now that they are using it).

Is there a good thread for DIY chicken coop plans or sources?

spillsomepaint said:

Sorry! There is a ramp, it wasn't attached in the photo (but it is now that they are using it).

Is there a good thread for DIY chicken coop plans or sources?

Click to expand...

Not really...they are spread all over the forum, but mostly in the Coop and Run.... forum
There is the Coops tab too

Mostly you have to browse for ideas and design your favorite parts that fit your site and climate.
Takes lots of time researching and planning to do it efficiently.