Do I need to show my hens their hen house?

[Txboi83]

I was wondering if I need to show my hens their hen house?

 

[cat1994]

I just put my hens in their house and let them alone for the day giving them their space so they can take their own sweet time checking their place out

 

[mikecnorthwest]

When I introduced my hens to the coop I put them in at 6 weeks and kept them in the house for several days before letting them in the run.

 

[1hotmoma]

Thanks for asking this question. I was wondering the same thing with my new building I am moving mine to. They are kinda exploring it right now but I am going to have them move in for more permanent stay.

 

[MareeZoCool]

My chickens were so happy with the coop we built, they moved in at sunset.

We didn't think it was ready, but who knows what chickens desire for their houses?

 

[ridgewood chickens]

I just finished building my coup over the weekend, I attached the run to it that they had been in all summer, opened their little doorway in the end of the coup, and within a few hours they had moved in and seem to be extremely happy.

 

[Txboi83]

Well what Ive been doing for the past two nights was butting them in their new hen house for the night in the hope that they will figure out where to go at night does anyone else have any other ideas?

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

We put our chickens in the hen house and kept them indoors for a couple of weeks, wanting then to get used to laying IN the hen house; but, our hen house and run are both pretty large so this wouldn't work for all situations. After the two weeks they've never had difficulty going back to the hen house at night or putting their eggs elsewhere. Picture of the hen house is here: http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2010/06/13/new-chicken-coop-with-surprise/

 

[rungirl]

The entire time we were building it, we couldn't stop them from coming in and "christening" the floor. They must have know it was going to be for them.

 

[Alethea]

I expect they'll figure it out without a problem. We had it easy, put the brooder in the coop, then removed it and put in the perch when they were ready. They know it's home. We change the straw monthly, then they come in and rearrange it to their liking. It is, after all, their house.