Moving new pullets

[Ajoy1955]

So I am ready to move my pullets into the big coop with the others, they are already in the same run during the day, but still sleep in the grow out coop. Can I just pick them up after they go to roost put them into the big coop? They are already familiar with the big coop, cause they venture into it during the daytime? I tried locking them out if their grow out coop tonight, but were clearly stressed, and of course it stressed me out, so I opened the old coop so they could go back in, if this coop was a good solid coop, I would just let them stay in it, but it is not adequate for winter use, and want this transition to be complete before winter.. thanks all responses, and advice

 

[rosemarythyme]

It's going to be stressful anyhow so just rip off the bandage. Close up the coop they were using, and they'll probably pile up next to it in the evening, making them easy to grab and move. Put them in the new location once it's dark.

I don't know what time you usually let them out, but if you don't have a pop door that's set to open at sunrise, It's best to plan on opening up the door at sunrise for the next few days, in case they need to run for it.

 

[Ajoy1955]

It's going to be stressful anyhow so just rip off the bandage. Close up the coop they were using, and they'll probably pile up next to it in the evening, making them easy to grab and move. Put them in the new location once it's dark.

I don't know what time you usually let them out, but if you don't have a pop door that's set to open at sunrise, It's best to plan on opening up the door at sunrise for the next few days, in case they need to run for it.

So just grabbing them off of their current roost is not a good plan?

 

[rosemarythyme]

So just grabbing them off of their current roost is not a good plan?

You can do that instead. I guess I'm always hopeful that at least some of them will follow the older birds into the new coop, if they're not given the option to go to the old one.

 

[Ajoy1955]

You can do that instead. I guess I'm always hopeful that at least some of them will follow the older birds into the new coop, if they're not given the option to go to the old one.

I tried it tonight, they went in, but came right back out, and was circling their old coop like a bunch of Indians on the warpath… lol.. I could tell they were highly stressed, so I caved and reopened the old coop for them.. I want this to be a stress free as possible for them, but I guess it just is not going to happen that way.. this is my first time experiencing adding newbies to an existing flock, the entire process has been extremely stressful for me lol

 

[rosemarythyme]

I tried it tonight, they went in, but came right back out, and was circling their old coop like a bunch of Indians on the warpath… lol.. I could tell they were highly stressed, so I caved and reopened the old coop for them.. I want this to be a stress free as possible for them, but I guess it just is not going to happen that way.. this is my first time experiencing adding newbies to an existing flock, the entire process has been extremely stressful for me lol

First time was stressful too, now I honestly look forward to finishing integration because it's so much easier to manage one flock instead of two smaller ones. It's going to take a few days even in a best case scenario, but it can take weeks if you draw it out instead of setting the line in the sand.

 

[Ajoy1955]

First time was stressful too, now I honestly look forward to finishing integration because it's so much easier to manage one flock instead of two smaller ones. It's going to take a few days even in a best case scenario, but it can take weeks if you draw it out instead of setting the line in the sand.

Thank you for your help! So this morning after I turn the pullets out, the small coop will be closed , they will even have to find the new coop to lay their eggs in.. that is the least of my concerns! You are so correct I want this integration process to be complete!

 

[aart]

So this morning after I turn the pullets out, the small coop will be closed , they will even have to find the new coop to lay their eggs in.. that is the least of my concerns! You are so correct I want this integration process to be complete!

If they hover at the old coop, wait until dark and toss them in the big coop and close the door. Can you walk into the big coop and place them on the roosts?
Do you have a separate roost for the youngsters?

 

[Insnesnakos]

It's going to be stressful anyhow so just rip off the bandage. Close up the coop they were using, and they'll probably pile up next to it in the evening, making them easy to grab and move. Put them in the new location once it's dark.

I don't know what time you usually let them out, but if you don't have a pop door that's set to open at sunrise, It's best to plan on opening up the door at sunrise for the next few days, in case they need to run for it.

My pullets had a cardboard box they would all jump into. Then we would move them into the big bird coop when it was dark. Soon they learned to sleep in the big coop

 

[K0k0shka]

I have a different suggestion (this is what I do with my new pullets every year). Don't wait until it's dark, and don't put them in the big coop by carrying them through the human door. There are two things that need to happen here - the physical relocation of the pullets, and also teaching them how to do it themselves. The second part gets forgotten often, but is actually the more important part. If you wait until it's dark, they can't see what's happening. If you walk through the human door, which they don't have access to, they learn nothing. Instead, keep your small coop closed at all times, and wait until it starts getting dark but isn't fully dark yet. Until the main flock has already roosted, but there's still enough light to see. Then, grab each pullet, put her in through the pop door - where she should be going in herself - and close the pop door. Then grab the next one, open the pop door, put her in, close it (so the pullets already in don't try to come out). Do this until all of the pullets are in. They should be able to see in there because it's not fully dark yet, but the main flock is already on the roosts so less likely to come down and harass them. Make sure there are enough roosts for everybody, and that the pullets can roost somewhere out of reach of the older hens. You'll need to do this exercise for a couple of days, until eventually they learn that at dusk they need to go into the big coop, through the pop door. They will learn pretty quickly. The setup I have for this that really helps, is I have two pop doors - an automatic door on the inside, and a manual door on the outside. This is very very helpful when I want to close the coop for some reason, but don't want to mess with the programming on the auto door. Like in the case of training pullets. I can manually close the regular pop door after each pullet is in, and then keep it closed until the auto door engages and closes. Then I go back and open the manual door, so that the next morning the auto door can open at sunrise (and I can sleep in!) and the chickens can come out into the run, and not be stuck in the coop with the older ones harassing the pullets.