- Jul 31, 2014
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Hello everyone!
This is my first endeavor with chickens and this site has been of great help and assistance so far answering questions that I have had. I was recently given 5 hens and a rooster that are approx. a month or two old. I was also given a 4x3' coop with 3 nesting boxes attached to the side and a 10x4' run. I am in the process of expanding the run to give them 90sq ft. I have built another coop which is also 4x3 and attached it to the original coop(free materials dictated the size) via a 9" long tunnel between the two that is the size of a pop door.
The birds are going into the coop on their own at night but I have yet to let them free range. They are however not venturing over into the new coop addition which contains two roost's at night. When I check on them after dusk they are either on the top ledge of the pop door to the original coop or the ledge above the nest box opening. I have blocked the nest boxes off as they were sleeping in them the first few nights.
Should I just staple some fencing up so that they are not able to land on the ledges? Should I be concerned that they are not going over into the other coop? The new addition was put into service on Monday. Also the girls have stayed in the run for the time that I have had them (1 week as of today). At their previous home they were all free ranging with the rest of the animals. When do you think that it would be safe to let them out to free range? I am thinking that they should be let out a couple hours before dusk for a while before being out for long periods....
Thank you in advance for your advice!
This is my first endeavor with chickens and this site has been of great help and assistance so far answering questions that I have had. I was recently given 5 hens and a rooster that are approx. a month or two old. I was also given a 4x3' coop with 3 nesting boxes attached to the side and a 10x4' run. I am in the process of expanding the run to give them 90sq ft. I have built another coop which is also 4x3 and attached it to the original coop(free materials dictated the size) via a 9" long tunnel between the two that is the size of a pop door.
The birds are going into the coop on their own at night but I have yet to let them free range. They are however not venturing over into the new coop addition which contains two roost's at night. When I check on them after dusk they are either on the top ledge of the pop door to the original coop or the ledge above the nest box opening. I have blocked the nest boxes off as they were sleeping in them the first few nights.
Should I just staple some fencing up so that they are not able to land on the ledges? Should I be concerned that they are not going over into the other coop? The new addition was put into service on Monday. Also the girls have stayed in the run for the time that I have had them (1 week as of today). At their previous home they were all free ranging with the rest of the animals. When do you think that it would be safe to let them out to free range? I am thinking that they should be let out a couple hours before dusk for a while before being out for long periods....
Thank you in advance for your advice!