Buying Adult Hens

[chickenliz123]

I am buying adult hens for my coop and I'm wondering how I should introduce them to their new home. I don't have any birds yet so they won't need to be introduced to a flock. Can I just put them in? How long do you think it will take before they are comfortable enough to lay eggs?
Thanks!

 

[dikbiscuit]

Welcome to the site. :')

I should think it would be okay to just stick them in the coop if there's no chickens that need introducing/integrating. I would lock them in the coop for about a week or so though, so they know where 'home' is. Enjoy your new chooks.

 

[Mrs. K]

Depending on where you live and how hot it is this time of year, I might not lock mine in the coop. Perhaps I don't have a problem, because I have a run connected to the coop. However, mine have always returned to the coop at night, adult chickens want to roost at night, and will find the roost inside the coop if they can get in there.

If they are point of lay hens, as in they have not been laying eggs yet..... it might be a couple of weeks or more till they lay. If they are currently laying hens, they may lay immediately, because there was an egg in the tract, and then take a couple of days off as they adjust, then should lay steady.

Mrs K

 

[conorexnz]

Jut hijacking this thread. I have just purchased 3 hens (not sure how old but well established) from a flock of 6. The remaining 3 are still laying but my 3 haven't layed since the move. It's been 8 days. It's winter here with overnight temps about 50F and daytime 80F. They've got a large run, layer pellets, scraps and have been let out to free range in our yard a couple of times. Any ideas?

 

[Mrs. K]

As you say it is winter where you are, I am questioning the day length, and a possible molt. My older hens tend to molt near the end of November, (going into winter for me) and pretty much take December off, with the shortest daylengths..... then about mid January they begin laying again. Older hens tend to really be affected by this, were as pullets tend to lay right through it.

New digs can also upset the laying cycle, if the flock mates are laying, I think yours will start to lay soon. It sounds like the feed set up is fine.

Mrs K

 

[donrae]

I am buying adult hens for my coop and I'm wondering how I should introduce them to their new home. I don't have any birds yet so they won't need to be introduced to a flock. Can I just put them in? How long do you think it will take before they are comfortable enough to lay eggs?
Thanks!

Just put them in the coop. If you have an attached run, no reason to confine them only to the coop. I'd not let them out to free range for a good week or so, to make sure they'll come home again.

When a laying hen is moved, it's really hard to say how much it will affect them. I moved a bird simply from one pen to another about 2 months ago, and she hasn't laid since

. I've sold laying hens to folks who later told me the bird didn't miss a day of production. So, really impossible to predict. From what folks report here, 1-3 weeks seems to be an average.

Jut hijacking this thread. I have just purchased 3 hens (not sure how old but well established) from a flock of 6. The remaining 3 are still laying but my 3 haven't layed since the move. It's been 8 days. It's winter here with overnight temps about 50F and daytime 80F. They've got a large run, layer pellets, scraps and have been let out to free range in our yard a couple of times. Any ideas?

If they were laying when you got them, I'd say they just need more time to adjust to the move. It will depend on the age, some older birds in this situation would stop laying completely until spring.

As an fyi, especially if you're not in the States, it's good to put your location in your userprofile. Knowing what country you're in can temper our responses as most of us "think American"