Acclimation period

[daverh]

Hello folks.

I have two questions tonight.

Can someone tell me how long my chickens need to stay in their new coop before they can be let out to wander?

I only see ramps made of wood leading out of coops with ramps. Will it be okay to build a ramp made of stone?

Thanks, Dave

 

[mandelyn]

A ramp can be made of anything, so long as nothing will fall or cause injury. We have a mix of stone and wood for steps and ramps.

I leave birds in the coop for about a week. Then I start with evening outings, to force them back at dusk. The later you let them out, the closer to home they stay. Once they're good at that, then I start letting them out earlier. The first time would be about 3 hours before sundown.

I try not to leave mine out long enough for them to get bored.. keeps them from thinking about going over the fence to visit neighbors. So they get either morning or afternoon, but not all day. All day encourages them to go farther, and in our case that would mean over the fence.