Advice/PLEASE HELP - moving chicks to coop

[LauraSac]

It's amazing how warm feathers keep them, and I'm sure they'll be cuddled together like my girls, no matter how warm or cold it is. They crack me up. Happy Birthday to your daughter!

 

[cblakley0531]

It's amazing how warm feathers keep them, and I'm sure they'll be cuddled together like my girls, no matter how warm or cold it is. They crack me up. Happy Birthday to your daughter!

Awww thank you so much! Her party was awesome and I love that she is getting older to enjoy it but hating that she is growing up too fast at the same time!

Put the girls in the coop for their first over night tonight! EEEEEEEK! I'm one nervous chicken mama! I know that it's heavily suggested to keep them locked up in the coop for up to a week so that they "get" that's where they need to stay, but of course we're getting another random hot streak and I'm afraid they'll get too hot and I can't run electricity out to them yet :-( THoughts?

 

[LauraSac]

Awww thank you so much! Her party was awesome and I love that she is getting older to enjoy it but hating that she is growing up too fast at the same time!

Put the girls in the coop for their first over night tonight! EEEEEEEK! I'm one nervous chicken mama! I know that it's heavily suggested to keep them locked up in the coop for up to a week so that they "get" that's where they need to stay, but of course we're getting another random hot streak and I'm afraid they'll get too hot and I can't run electricity out to them yet :-( THoughts?

If it's hot, I'd think better safe than sorry and leave the coop door open during the day. They may naturally return to the coop at night. If they don't, it might be a headache this week to get them back in the coop, but you can coop train them next week instead. My girls didn't want to leave the coop at all after the coop training, even though it was warm, but the open door gave them a lot more fresh air. I also put ice in their water when it's hot. We might hit 100 this week. They have lots of shade in their run, and since we don't have humidity, it really helps.

I know what it's like to worry about them. I fortified my run last week. I have a hardware cloth skirt all around, but I buried pavers on top of it. We don't have fox (quick digging predators), but we do have raccoons in the neighborhood. There has been no sign of digging, paw prints or scat anywhere though. I think our dogs, even though they're not out at night, probably keeps the raccoons away just with their smell. I also spray this nasty smelling deterrent that's worked in my garden with rats. Plus, we only have two hens, so they're not a loud attraction. The only neighbors who have lost their hens to raccoons were those whose girls were still free ranging at dusk. Mine are in the secure run, but I still worry. I have a reminder on my phone to remind me to close the coop each night. I love that they're already in there, snuggled up, when I go out to close it. Once the coop is closed, they're totally safe, but my boyfriend and I work until 9:00 a couple nights a month. My neighbor whose had a lot of chickens says raccoons would be too lazy to go after my girls when they have easier pickings with other neighbors' hens. I don't wish them harm, and my chicken run protection may be overkill, but I feel better the more they're protected.

 

[cblakley0531]

If it's hot, I'd think better safe than sorry and leave the coop door open during the day. They may naturally return to the coop at night. If they don't, it might be a headache this week to get them back in the coop, but you can coop train them next week instead. My girls didn't want to leave the coop at all after the coop training, even though it was warm, but the open door gave them a lot more fresh air. I also put ice in their water when it's hot. We might hit 100 this week. They have lots of shade in their run, and since we don't have humidity, it really helps.

I know what it's like to worry about them. I fortified my run last week. I have a hardware cloth skirt all around, but I buried pavers on top of it. We don't have fox (quick digging predators), but we do have raccoons in the neighborhood. There has been no sign of digging, paw prints or scat anywhere though. I think our dogs, even though they're not out at night, probably keeps the raccoons away just with their smell. I also spray this nasty smelling deterrent that's worked in my garden with rats. Plus, we only have two hens, so they're not a loud attraction. The only neighbors who have lost their hens to raccoons were those whose girls were still free ranging at dusk. Mine are in the secure run, but I still worry. I have a reminder on my phone to remind me to close the coop each night. I love that they're already in there, snuggled up, when I go out to close it. Once the coop is closed, they're totally safe, but my boyfriend and I work until 9:00 a couple nights a month. My neighbor whose had a lot of chickens says raccoons would be too lazy to go after my girls when they have easier pickings with other neighbors' hens. I don't wish them harm, and my chicken run protection may be overkill, but I feel better the more they're protected.

Oh my goodness, I'm SO excited, they night time trained themselves in ONE night. One of my Aussies took two nights to get with the idea but none the less, I'm extremely excited it took so little effort and that I didn't have to lock them up inside for a week. Next challenge is getting them to roost. They just huddle in a corner of the coop at night. My coop is up off the ground anyways but would still like them to figure out how to roost at night haha.

I totally getting the paranoia! I'm ALWAYS worried even though my hens are pretty similar to yours, they make very little noise and such, But it still makes your gut turn just thinking about what could happen. My parents were making fun of me a tiny bit because my coop feels like it's Fort Knox! I was predator proofing things that probably didn't need it, but now I can sleep at night knowing I did what I could!

 

[LauraSac]

Oh my goodness, I'm SO excited, they night time trained themselves in ONE night. One of my Aussies took two nights to get with the idea but none the less, I'm extremely excited it took so little effort and that I didn't have to lock them up inside for a week. Next challenge is getting them to roost. They just huddle in a corner of the coop at night. My coop is up off the ground anyways but would still like them to figure out how to roost at night haha.

I totally getting the paranoia! I'm ALWAYS worried even though my hens are pretty similar to yours, they make very little noise and such, But it still makes your gut turn just thinking about what could happen. My parents were making fun of me a tiny bit because my coop feels like it's Fort Knox! I was predator proofing things that probably didn't need it, but now I can sleep at night knowing I did what I could!

Awesome! My girls huddled on the floor the first couple nights, then they figured the roost out. I gave them their first taste of freedom yesterday. We have dogs on two of the three sides of our backyard fence (and we have 3 dogs of our own), so I don't want to ever leave them out by themselves in case they decide to fly over the fence. Plus, we have hawks, so I'll probably always supervise their free range time. We let them out about 20 minutes before they go up to their coop so we wouldn't have to chase them back into the run. They ended up not going far at all. They just pecked around right outside the run and never even made it to the grass. Their run is more than big enough for them, and they have roosts they can fly up to, but I still want to give them time out of the run. I'm glad they're not too brave, though.

 

[subhanalah]

You can go in at night and pick them from in their pile and put them on the roost. They'll get the idea after a couple nights.

 

[cblakley0531]

Awesome! My girls huddled on the floor the first couple nights, then they figured the roost out. I gave them their first taste of freedom yesterday. We have dogs on two of the three sides of our backyard fence (and we have 3 dogs of our own), so I don't want to ever leave them out by themselves in case they decide to fly over the fence. Plus, we have hawks, so I'll probably always supervise their free range time. We let them out about 20 minutes before they go up to their coop so we wouldn't have to chase them back into the run. They ended up not going far at all. They just pecked around right outside the run and never even made it to the grass. Their run is more than big enough for them, and they have roosts they can fly up to, but I still want to give them time out of the run. I'm glad they're not too brave, though.

I've been trying haha! One gets it some maybe as time goes, they will follow the leader haha! I've been trying to find some time to walk through the woods to get some good roosting sticks to put in their run to practice on during the day

 

[LauraSac]

I've been trying haha! One gets it some maybe as time goes, they will follow the leader haha! I've been trying to find some time to walk through the woods to get some good roosting sticks to put in their run to practice on during the day

In our run, we have a stump that has a V in it, so it has two natural roosts. We also have this branch that we buried into the ground that they roost on a lot too (see pic). I do think having roosts in the run probably helps. And just keep putting them up on it at night. They may hop off, but they'll eventually get it. If it's a high roost, though, you might put in a lower one that they can step onto. It might not be the highest thing in the coop, but it might get them used to sitting on a roost.

 

[cblakley0531]

In our run, we have a stump that has a V in it, so it has two natural roosts. We also have this branch that we buried into the ground that they roost on a lot too (see pic). I do think having roosts in the run probably helps. And just keep putting them up on it at night. They may hop off, but they'll eventually get it. If it's a high roost, though, you might put in a lower one that they can step onto. It might not be the highest thing in the coop, but it might get them used to sitting on a roost.

Thank you so much for the ideas! I don't think it's too high, I'll have to measure again but I know it's under the "recommended" height off the coop floor that I found on a Q&A here.

 

[LauraSac]

Thank you so much for the ideas! I don't think it's too high, I'll have to measure again but I know it's under the "recommended" height off the coop floor that I found on a Q&A here.

Mine is lower, too, because I have a tiny flock and a small coop. They have enough head space and they use the roost, which is what matters. They roost at the exact same spot. The only time they ever move is in the morning if they're up at and at 'em before I open the door. Definitely creatures of habit!