food and water placement and free ranging

[HeyHouse]

Hmm... not sure if I'm being helpful anymore, maybe someone else with this style coop can make a suggestion?

But I would say, if your run is secure enough, you don't really need to lock the coop. As long as you can get them into the run, they'll go to the coop when they feel like it.

The only reason to lock the coop is if you have a big predator problem and your run is poorly fenced.

 

[centrarchid]

I only have a small section of grassed area in my backyard only 5 different spots for the coop to be moved too the rest of the yard is garden or concrete so the furtherest distance the coop would move is 10-15m back to the first spot.. We rotate through the areas weekly so the grass has a good month to recover.

I dont understand your last section about insect hatches and imbalanced diet can you explain please

You will have troubles with chickens finding coop and roost, 10-15 m will be to far. Even a 5-m move will be problematic in a setting where you have a lot of structure for birds to navigate.

Imbalanced diet not likely to be an issue when using a complete diet as starting point for fermented feed.

Insect hatches are where you have localized increased in available insects. The insects can be emerging on sight from ground like seen with June Beetles, and reproductive ants and termites. Another "hatch" can be in the form of drift where insects such as grasshoppers and craneflies that move from adjacent areas into area chickens forage. When abundant insect forages are available late in the day, chickens will sometimes go after such because they so easy to catch and tasty.

See link below on "hawking".

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/901676/hawking-june-beetles

 

[Kimberly4403]

You will have troubles with chickens finding coop and roost, 10-15 m will be to far. Even a 5-m move will be problematic in a setting where you have a lot of structure for birds to navigate.

Imbalanced diet not likely to be an issue when using a complete diet as starting point for fermented feed.

Insect hatches are where you have localized increased in available insects. The insects can be emerging on sight from ground like seen with June Beetles, and reproductive ants and termites. Another "hatch" can be in the form of drift where insects such as grasshoppers and craneflies that move from adjacent areas into area chickens forage. When abundant insect forages are available late in the day, chickens will sometimes go after such because they so easy to catch and tasty.

See link below on "hawking".

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/901676/hawking-june-beetles

So my hubby just confirmed its only 6m not 10-15m like i guessed woops im no good at guessing lol... But u still say that might be an issue apart from a stationary coop what would the best way of moving coop be without confusing birds? Only moving back and forth so footprints always touch?

 

[HeyHouse]

So my hubby just confirmed its only 6m not 10-15m like i guessed woops im no good at guessing lol... But u still say that might be an issue apart from a stationary coop what would the best way of moving coop be without confusing birds? Only moving back and forth so footprints always touch?

My advice is to experiment. Nobody is going to have the right answer for your specific situation.

Try leaving the coop stationary for a week to see if it improves your problem. If it makes no noticeable difference then it's not your main issue. If it does improve, then maybe you need to move the coop less frequently or not as far.

I always try to keep things simple and change one thing at a time so I know what the effect is.

 

[centrarchid]

My advice is to experiment.  Nobody is going to have the right answer for your specific situation.  


Try leaving the coop stationary for a week to see if it improves your problem.  If it makes no noticeable difference then it's not your main issue.  If it does improve, then maybe you need to move the coop less frequently or not as far.  


I always try to keep things simple and change one thing at a time so I know what the effect is.  

I have down some experimentation with this very problem. I could move roost location incrementally with juveniles and adults. When in an open field the roost could be moved farther without causing confusion relative to when other distractions where in the environment. Additionally, simply changing the roost orentation with respect to direction on a compass could be an issue. Simply rotating the coop causes birds difficulty in finding finding the interest. Rotating coop and moving it too far can cause birds not to recognize coop. They imprint on coop location and what it looks like from the direction they approach when going to the roost. When confusion is important following a change in coop location / orientation, then the first thing you will notice is it takes birds longer to get in. The more difficult it is to recognize, the longer it takes to move in. If changes too extreme, then some or all will shift to another location such as a tree, bush, out building or even your porch. You do not want the slowness to enter roost or abrupt shift to a new location occurring when you are not present as they do a lot behavior wise that calls in predators.

Yes, experiment and be looking for signs I describe to use as a guide as to what you can get away with in your location. I had to do the same in several locations spread out over several acres where flocks had discrete home ranges in rather different structural environments.