when to put chicks in the coop

[mypolitedog]

My girls are loving being in the coop with all the room! I've been confining them to just the coop until my heating pad comes for the Mama Heating Pad Cave. Today I gave them some grass to peck at, and of course, they have grits available, too. When I master how to post a photo or a video (of course I've got lots of both)...I'll show you! While their run is predator-proofed, with hardware cloth buried along the perimeter 12" down and up, and chicken wire and aviary netting on the roof, I want to be able to monitor them the first couple of times I let them out...plus, they are just 7 days old!

 

[AllynTal]

My girls are loving being in the coop with all the room! I've been confining them to just the coop until my heating pad comes for the Mama Heating Pad Cave. Today I gave them some grass to peck at, and of course, they have grits available, too. When I master how to post a photo or a video (of course I've got lots of both)...I'll show you! While their run is predator-proofed, with hardware cloth buried along the perimeter 12" down and up, and chicken wire and aviary netting on the roof, I want to be able to monitor them the first couple of times I let them out...plus, they are just 7 days old!

Sounds good. If you throw a clump of sod in there so they can peck the dirt, they won't need extra grit.


Here's mine out at 3 days old.

 

[mypolitedog]

aha! I can post pictures from my iPhone but not my iPad...

 

[mypolitedog]

Sounds good. If you throw a clump of sod in there so they can peck the dirt, they won't need extra grit. Here's mine out at 3 days old.

I don't have sod...I live in the high desert...but I did pull some native volunteer grass to offer and they love it, roots and all. Plus, I offered them sand mixed with dirt even when they were in the plastic tub in the house.

 

[Christabean]

Yeah, I don't have the option of tractoring. I have a very uneven yard with a steep drop off.  How old are your chicks? I have three almost six week olds. One is an Iowa Blue, one an Australorp, and a chipmunk EE. They are my first chickens and I'm learning as I go! Thanks for your input. 

Mine are about 8 weeks old; I've had them for 5 weeks, outside for 2. They are a Maran, Wyandotte, Orpington & Cochin.

 

[Auntie Moose]

I don't know if this is the right forum to ask this question, but you guys are my go-to group! I have a mouse, or mice, visiting my chickens. I'm sure they are wanting the feed. My question is, why won't my girls chase the mouse off? Last time I saw the mouse, the girls were all huddled in the furthest corner of the coop like they were hiding or scared? Has anyone had luck getting mice to not invade your coop/run? They can squirm through the smallest holes! It's impossible to find them all!

 

[RonC]

I don't know if this is the right forum to ask this question, but you guys are my go-to group! I have a mouse, or mice, visiting my chickens. I'm sure they are wanting the feed. My question is, why won't my girls chase the mouse off? Last time I saw the mouse, the girls were all huddled in the furthest corner of the coop like they were hiding or scared? Has anyone had luck getting mice to not invade your coop/run? They can squirm through the smallest holes! It's impossible to find them all!

You could start a thread if you wanted but this flock I have now are only about 3 months old and are afraid of mice/rats so far. My first flock once grown would kill rats and anything else that got in with them.. If possible put their food up at night will discourage rodents. There are rodent proof feeders available too..

 

[Auntie Moose]

You could start a thread if you wanted but this flock I have now are only about 3 months old and are afraid of mice/rats so far. My first flock once grown would kill rats and anything else that got in with them.. If possible put their food up at night will discourage rodents. There are rodent proof feeders available too..

I have very gutsy mice in the run right now. They come out in the day, any time of day. I think they have figured out that the food is locked in the coop with the chickens at night and they can't get into the coop. My chicks run and hide in a corner or at the bottom of the run when they see a mouse. What I'm really mad about is that my two lazy cats aren't doing their jobs!

 

[Elemes]

I read somewhere to LOCK them in coop for a week, so they know where they live when it's bedtime? Sounding a little strange to me....

I only needed to "lock" mine in for 12-13 hours. They got it after that.
Also helps to keep the same bedding - in my case, using some pine with the straw floor so it is familiar.

 

[Blooie]

Re rats and mice in the coop and/or run. Removing food at night and using rodent proof feeders is a start, but I think what's been forgotten is that every grain of chicken food does not either remain in the feeder or in the chickens. Chickens scatter it. They drop it. They bill some out. They don't always find every scrap of food or scratch tossed in. It gets lost in the litter. And those tiny missed bits are all it takes to feed a hungry mouse - they don't need a feeder full....

The most important thing is to try to keep them out in the first place, and that's easier said than done! They are ingenious, survival-driven little critters who will find and exploit every teeny little entry point they find. We use 1/4 inch hardware cloth around the perimeter of our entire setup - it runs 2 feet up the sides and almost 2 feet outwards at the bottom. We chose that because I'd read that a mouse can get through a space 1/2 wide so I wanted something finer. It's secured with screws and washers, wire, and landscape fabric staples (in the ground) and we even put a rubber gasket at the bottom of the people doors to seal any gaps. I thought we'd done what we could.

Last night I went out because I left the water running on the garden. I shined the flashlight on the run as I was on my way out there just in time to see a mouse use the 1/4 inch hardware cloth like a ladder, scurrying up the wall and then dropping down into the run. AAACKKKK!! This morning Ken and went out and bought 8 of those black covered traps. The lady at the hardware store looked a little heebied-out at the thought of what our house must be like so I said, "They're for the chicken coop." She kind of laughed and said, "Good luck. I never did get rid of them completely in mine." Oh, boy. <sigh> But we'll set the traps tonight and put a few inside and the rest around the perimeter and hope for the best. I don't want to use poison because if a chicken finds a poisoned dead mouse she may well think she has a new treat and eat from it. No thanks! Wish us luck!