Bringing home new hens

[Col1948]

Some people entice them back in by giving them a treat, I never had to do that but it can work.
On a side issue about giving treats, when they see me they come running thinking I have something nice for them, sometimes I have sometimes not but they still come running lol.

You may see them hesitate a bit, but once one goes in the others will slowly follow, sometimes one will come out but they get the idea very soon.

 

[MNchickaroo]

Our run wasn't finished at the same time as our coop (trust me, when they say make sure everything is ready for the chickens, make sure, as they grow way faster than you think they will!). But we wanted them to start acclimating to the outside, so we put up a little piece of 4' high fencing in a big circle and used a plastic tote to transfer them. It lets them be outside, and lets you have something to coral them in if your afraid of having to chase them (they'd give linebackers a run for their money!) and offers a little protection. Warning...at age 6 weeks, some of our birds were able to flap themselves over the fence (unplanned, those birds weren't aiming just thrilled with open spaces!)
At night we'd gather them up (I know what you mean by looking comical, thankfully we have lots of acres and trees so there aren't any witnesses!), and into the coop. It is a bit of work, but gives them some outdoor experience and makes it easier when they have the fence walls to corral them.
Good luck and enjoy those birds!

 

[AshRosc]

Some people entice them back in by giving them a treat, I never had to do that but it can work.
On a side issue about giving treats, when they see me they come running thinking I have something nice for them, sometimes I have sometimes not but they still come running lol.

You may see them hesitate a bit, but once one goes in the others will slowly follow, sometimes one will come out but they get the idea very soon.

Hopefully it all goes well! I’m thinking I will let them out of the coop some on Friday or Saturday. Thanks for the tips! I think I’ll be making another trip to tractor supply for some treats before then lol

 

[AshRosc]

Our run wasn't finished at the same time as our coop (trust me, when they say make sure everything is ready for the chickens, make sure, as they grow way faster than you think they will!). But we wanted them to start acclimating to the outside, so we put up a little piece of 4' high fencing in a big circle and used a plastic tote to transfer them. It lets them be outside, and lets you have something to coral them in if your afraid of having to chase them (they'd give linebackers a run for their money!) and offers a little protection. Warning...at age 6 weeks, some of our birds were able to flap themselves over the fence (unplanned, those birds weren't aiming just thrilled with open spaces!)
At night we'd gather them up (I know what you mean by looking comical, thankfully we have lots of acres and trees so there aren't any witnesses!), and into the coop. It is a bit of work, but gives them some outdoor experience and makes it easier when they have the fence walls to corral them.
Good luck and enjoy those birds!

It does feel pretty silly to chase a chicken lol our chicks are already older so they’re jumping up pretty high .. I think we’re going to have to come up with some type of enclosure for them though. I can’t lose a chicken yet!

 

[Col1948]

Don't overdo it with treats by the way, a few now and again is fine.
If they are jumping high and even flying you could clip the wings, there is a thread on here somewhere about that plus a few YouTube videos on how to do it.
Don't worry it doesn't hurt the chickens, it's like cutting your nails, but best watch the videos first because you can cut the wrong part of the wings if you don't know.

 

[AshRosc]

Yikes. Hopefully I don’t have to do that anytime soon. Tomorrow is their big day to be outside. I went in there around 730 last night and they were all up on the roosting bar. Fingers crossed they do the same thing on their own tomorrow evening!

 

[so lucky]

Maybe only let them out for a short time, the first few times outside. Like about an hour before they would want to go to roost. Also, if there are shrubs and underbrush, maybe a picnic table or steps the chickens can run under for protection from attack by hawks, they will have a better chance of survival. At least from aerial attack.

 

[AshRosc]

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking about easing them into being outside instead of just letting them go. I also have to start training my dog to leave them alone, he typically roams free all day. They have quite a few places they could take cover from a hawk, I am definitely a little nervous about them.

 

[Col1948]

Please keep us posted on how it goes.

 

[AshRosc]

Please keep us posted on how it goes.

Day one went perefectly. I expected to have problems and I’m surprised I didn’t. The chickens explored a bit but stayed relatively close to their coop. They spent a lot of time under my camper and went in and out of a few of my outbuildings. It was actually really fun to watch. I didn’t let my dog get very close to them, just in case he tried to chase one off. But then my husband insisted we just let him check them out to see how we reacts. He rounded them up until they went back into the coop!! I’m not sure if this is normal or some stroke of weird luck. What do you think?