Adjusting Chickens to a New Home

[hollandhens24]

I am moving just 3 hours away and staying within the same state. I have been able to find plenty of articles on the transport on the chickens, but am curious if anyone has advice for helping them to adjust to the new environment. My girls are all used to free ranging, though they get plenty of kitchen scraps and plenty of treats and are often in my yard, under the porch, etc.

Some factors that I would appreciate consideration for:
1. We currently live in a farm environment surrounded by wheat and cornfields that the hens have plenty of shelter wandering and hiding in. Predators primarily include coyotes, foxes, hawks, skunks, raccoons. The new house is in the mountains and along a river where the predators will increase from those listed above to also include eagles, bears, bobcats. Their current coop is inside a shed with a concrete floor and is essentially predator proof. Since we will be doing a new coop, what recommendations would you have for the setup? I was thinking of doing a shed on skids that can be moved around the property, then surrounding this with electric fencing. Is this the happy medium between free ranging and protection that I am hoping it is?

2. The temperature is cooler and snowfall will be much more intense than my girls are accustomed to, but also not absolutely absurd, drastic, or anything they haven't seen, just for a longer period of time than they are used to. We do not supplement with heat in the winter at our current home, but we will need to at the new house. We are moving in October when the seasons are changing, so I would like to know how to best aid in this transition. The days will be the perfect temperature, but the nights will be chilly. I am assuming just supplemental heat will be enough in this case?

3. Help with stress? Supplemental feed for immune boosting?

4. Egg laying. I don't expect them to be feeding the family during the transition, but I also have 5 pullets who are expected to start laying around this time and egg laying is a general indication of overall health. Is it likely that the pullets will experience a delay in their egg laying due to the move? Is there a period of time that I should be expecting everyone to be laying that would indicate that they are adjusting?

5. Behaviors to monitor or look out for?

If there is anything that I am overlooking or not considering please feel free to include it. Thank you!

 

[DobieLover]

I was thinking of doing a shed on skids that can be moved around the property, then surrounding this with electric fencing. Is this the happy medium between free ranging and protection that I am hoping it is?

This works for me with the exception that my coop is stationary with a large predator proof run attached with a solid roof. The entire setup is inside a 1/3 acre pen enclosed with electrified poultry netting powered by a 10,000 volt charger. I have all the same cast of characters you will be dealing with in addition to Fisher cats which are absolutely vicious.

The temperature is cooler

Cooler is okay.

chilly

Chilly is just fine. It does not sound like you require supplemental heating. The only time you really need supplemental heating is if you get extended periods of time that are well below zero. Otherwise you want to rely heavily on copious amounts of draft free ventilation to remove the moist stale air from the coop. Keeping the coop as dry as possible is going to be your best bet to get them through the winter just fine. Also having an outdoor space that is protected from the wind will help keep them from getting cabin fever.
I wrap my run with reinforced poly tarps for the winter.

Help with stress?

Anytime of extreme stress I like to offer electrolyte infused mash to the birds for a day or two and then go back off for two or 3 days. They always have fresh clean water when given the electrolyte infused mash.

Is it likely that the pullets will experience a delay in their egg laying due to the move?

Probably.

Behaviors to monitor or look out for?

Because you are moving them onto fresh ground that they have never been exposed to, I would have a bottle of Corid on hand just in case they show signs of coccidiosis. Coccidia is a normal part of the gut flora but they develop immunity to the specific strains in their environment. There will be different strains when you move them. That in combination with the stress of the move may cause infection.

One other thing to consider would be to orient your new coop to face the same way as their old coop did. In other words, if the pop door into your old coop faced east, make sure the pop door for the new coop also faces east.

 

[hollandhens24]

This works for me with the exception that my coop is stationary with a large predator proof run attached with a solid roof. The entire setup is inside a 1/3 acre pen enclosed with electrified poultry netting powered by a 10,000 volt charger. I have all the same cast of characters you will be dealing with in addition to Fisher cats which are absolutely vicious.
View attachment 4173260

Cooler is okay.

Chilly is just fine. It does not sound like you require supplemental heating. The only time you really need supplemental heating is if you get extended periods of time that are well below zero. Otherwise you want to rely heavily on copious amounts of draft free ventilation to remove the moist stale air from the coop. Keeping the coop as dry as possible is going to be your best bet to get them through the winter just fine. Also having an outdoor space that is protected from the wind will help keep them from getting cabin fever.
I wrap my run with reinforced poly tarps for the winter.
View attachment 4173261

Anytime of extreme stress I like to offer electrolyte infused mash to the birds for a day or two and then go back off for two or 3 days. They always have fresh clean water when given the electrolyte infused mash.

Probably.

Because you are moving them onto fresh ground that they have never been exposed to, I would have a bottle of Corid on hand just in case they show signs of coccidiosis. Coccidia is a normal part of the gut flora but they develop immunity to the specific strains in their environment. There will be different strains when you move them. That in combination with the stress of the move may cause infection.

One other thing to consider would be to orient your new coop to face the same way as their old coop did. In other words, if the pop door into your old coop faced east, make sure the pop door for the new coop also faces east.

Thank you for all of this!

 

[Ridgerunner]

1. I was thinking of doing a shed on skids that can be moved around the property, then surrounding this with electric fencing. Is this the happy medium between free ranging and protection that I am hoping it is?

I'll add a link so you can see how Joel Salatin does this. You will want a different coop.

https://farmhacker.com/joel-salatin-style-eggmobile-mobile-chicken-coop/

Your terrain will determine how well this works and what you might want your coop to look like. If your land is steeply sloped or tree or brush covered it might be more challenging. Properly installed electric netting should stop ground-based predators but will not stop flying predators.

2. The temperature is cooler and snowfall will be much more intense than my girls are accustomed to, but also not absolutely absurd, drastic, or anything they haven't seen, just for a longer period of time than they are used to. We do not supplement with heat in the winter at our current home, but we will need to at the new house. We are moving in October when the seasons are changing, so I would like to know how to best aid in this transition. The days will be the perfect temperature, but the nights will be chilly. I am assuming just supplemental heat will be enough in this case?

What cooler temperatures are you talking about? I don't mean averages, I mean what is the extreme you might possibly see? The extremes are where you might run into trouble.

You might notice how Salatin keeps them close to home in winter. If snow covers the ground they are not going to do much foraging. The only reason I can think of to move them then would be to manage poop build-up.

3. Help with stress? Supplemental feed for immune boosting?

Sounds like they will be foraging for a lot of their feed. You can add any supplements you want to. As long as you don't get ridiculous it should not hurt them. But I'd try to keep feeding them what they are used to if they are thriving on it now.

Some of us take a lot of strange and glorious supplements to help us manage many things. Some of us take very little. I believe in a balanced diet and managing only known deficiencies, others do a lot more. Do as you wish with your chickens or yourself.

4. Egg laying. I don't expect them to be feeding the family during the transition, Is it likely that the pullets will experience a delay in their egg laying due to the move? Is there a period of time that I should be expecting everyone to be laying that would indicate that they are adjusting?

Moving that time of the year there is an excellent chance some of your chickens will already be molting. The ones that are not may molt due to the move. I would not consider egg laying any kind of a test as to how healthy they are.

5. Behaviors to monitor or look out for?

Chickens generally do not like change but they are very adaptable. I'd expect them to be behaving normally within a few days. If any are laying they may not lay where you want them to. You may have to train them where to sleep if that is an issue.

If there is anything that I am overlooking or not considering please feel free to include it.

People generally do not like change but can be very adaptable. Think about it and take reasonable precautions but try to not worry unnecessarily about this. I think you can easily handle most of the things you are concerned about.

 

[hollandhens24]

What cooler temperatures are you talking about? I don't mean averages, I mean what is the extreme you might possibly see?

The temperature is generally around 15-20° cooler and the winter is considered more harsh due to the snowfall more so than temperature. The lowest expected temperature would likely be around -10° and this is unlikely, although stranger things have happened.

Thank you for the response!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll include a link to someone that deals with real cold. It may interest you.

Cold Weather Poultry Housing and Care | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens

At -10 F (-23 C) I'd want them to have good ventilation in the coop to prevent frostbite and to not have a breeze hitting them on the roost or elsewhere that they cannot get out of a breeze. To me that means ventilation up high in the coop. -10 C (+14 F) would not bother me other than keeping them out of a cold breeze. Mine like to go out and enjoy the weather when it is a bit below 0 F as long as the wind is not blowing.

When the ground is covered in snow I'd want them to have some extra room. Bad behaviors can be magnified if they are squeezed in tight.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I'll include a link to someone that deals with real cold. It may interest you.

Cold Weather Poultry Housing and Care | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens

At -10 F (-23 C) I'd want them to have good ventilation in the coop to prevent frostbite and to not have a breeze hitting them on the roost or elsewhere that they cannot get out of a breeze. To me that means ventilation up high in the coop. -10 C (+14 F) would not bother me other than keeping them out of a cold breeze. Mine like to go out and enjoy the weather when it is a bit below 0 F as long as the wind is not blowing.

When the ground is covered in snow I'd want them to have some extra room. Bad behaviors can be magnified if they are squeezed in tight.

I may need to stop whining about the heat, just a bit.