Getting Chicks to Accept the Coop, Cooperate, where do I put the feed - and then there's the cat...

[four palms]

Hi Everyone,

Obviously this is our first time out with chickens. It's 5.5 weeks in and with a heat wave on we have prepped the coop and put them in for some time yesterday + want to start them sleeping there tonight. But things aren't working:

1. How do I get them used to the idea that the coop is a place that they want to go? I want to put the feed and water there during the day but I'm afraid they'll never find it and it's so hard to catch them and stick them in. I read one blog that said to keep them closed in the coop for two weeks so they get used to it but that seems cruel, especially since we're already giving them access to the run every day. Also this blog suggested blocking off the laying areas for a long while so they don't get used to sleeping there. So that makes for a small space with nothing but straw to scratch.

2.Do you keep feed and water in the run or just in the coop?

3. The cat is now thankfully terrified of the chicks, which is reducing the panic and screams of our little daughter. But he wants to live in that coop so badly that I can't leave the door open. So now what? He's an outdoor cat because of allergies...

I would love any advice on the above. This is a key time for these ladies and it doesn't seem to be going well.

Thank you!

Four Palms urban farmer

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Hi Everyone,

Obviously this is our first time out with chickens. It's 5.5 weeks in and with a heat wave on we have prepped the coop and put them in for some time yesterday + want to start them sleeping there tonight. But things aren't working:

1. How do I get them used to the idea that the coop is a place that they want to go? I want to put the feed and water there during the day but I'm afraid they'll never find it and it's so hard to catch them and stick them in. I read one blog that said to keep them closed in the coop for two weeks so they get used to it but that seems cruel, especially since we're already giving them access to the run every day. Also this blog suggested blocking off the laying areas for a long while so they don't get used to sleeping there. So that makes for a small space with nothing but straw to scratch.
As long as you have an attached run that they can't get too far away, you only need to keep them locked in for about 3 days. Cruel or not, it will make your life much simpler. Creatures of habit, once they sleep somewhere a couple nights, they will return every night at dusk.
Good advice on blocking the nests too. Open them up when they're about 16 weeks.

2.Do you keep feed and water in the run or just in the coop?

I keep feed in the coop (to limit wild birds and vermin).
I keep water in the run (to prevent spillage, humidity and mold in the coop).
They won't eat or drink during the night.

3. The cat is now thankfully terrified of the chicks, which is reducing the panic and screams of our little daughter. But he wants to live in that coop so badly that I can't leave the door open. So now what? He's an outdoor cat because of allergies...

Others may disagree here, but it's all about opinion and giving our best advice.
Get rid of the cat. They're invasive species, should be house pets and not terrorizing native wildlife or making your daughter fearful that it will kill the chicks - which it very well may.

I would love any advice on the above. This is a key time for these ladies and it doesn't seem to be going well.

Thank you!

Four Palms urban farmer

Welcome to the group. Try not to overthink it. Everything will be fine. Healthy chickens are rugged livestock. Given good food, clean water and big ventilation, all will be well in chickendom.

 

[donrae]

We need to know more about your set up. How large is the coop, how large is the run, what is it made of, etc. Pics would be great.

Keeping chicks confined to a coop for a period of time is a matter of management style. Yep, it does teach them where to sleep, if you're invested in them sleeping in there. I've never been that worried about where they sleep. I figure they're smart enough to go in if the weather is bad and sleep inside, or they'll do just fine in the weather.

You also have to account for predators, though. I'm very concerned about the comment about keeping the door shut to keep the cat out...if your cat can access the coop with the door open, so can any number of predators. If you live in the continental US, you have raccoons, at the very least.

I'm with canoe, I keep feed in the coop and water in the run. But, my coop is a walk-in, so it's easy for me to feed in there. If I had one of the smaller, elevated coops I see a lot of folks using, I'd feed outside. I'm not interested in being a contortionist each day just to feed my birds

. Again, no right answer for that, just management styles.

 

[bobbi-j]

Hi Everyone,

Obviously this is our first time out with chickens. It's 5.5 weeks in and with a heat wave on we have prepped the coop and put them in for some time yesterday + want to start them sleeping there tonight. But things aren't working:

1. How do I get them used to the idea that the coop is a place that they want to go? I want to put the feed and water there during the day but I'm afraid they'll never find it and it's so hard to catch them and stick them in. I read one blog that said to keep them closed in the coop for two weeks so they get used to it but that seems cruel, especially since we're already giving them access to the run every day. Also this blog suggested blocking off the laying areas for a long while so they don't get used to sleeping there. So that makes for a small space with nothing but straw to scratch.

I agree with the above posters - keeping them in the coop for a few days helps get them used to sleeping in it. If your run is attached, you can keep the coop open to the run and they'll be fine

2.Do you keep feed and water in the run or just in the coop?

In the summer I feed inside and water outside. Like Donrae, my coop has a people door that I can walk in. If I had a little doll house coop, I'd also feed outside.

3. The cat is now thankfully terrified of the chicks, which is reducing the panic and screams of our little daughter. But he wants to live in that coop so badly that I can't leave the door open. So now what? He's an outdoor cat because of allergies...

I have several barn cats. They are beneficial in keeping the rodents under control. I don't trust them around the chicks, but they don't bother the adult birds.
I would love any advice on the above. This is a key time for these ladies and it doesn't seem to be going well.

Thank you!

Four Palms urban farmer

 

[four palms]

Thanks everyone! We have a small standing coop built high to deter rats (chicks fly up to stump then up to door to get in). The coop is in an orchard, enclosed on sides but not top so were keeping them mostly in an enclosed small run witihin it - but not attached to coop. We will close the coopdoor at dusk but yes they will be vulnerable during the day but we live in an urban area.
So: if we leave the food in the coop theyll know to go there when hungry?
Its ok to leave them w/out water for the night?
So far im luring them into coop with food but hopefully theyll get into the habit. If i lock them in there for 3 days with no run im afraid theyll hate the coop, but sounds like im wrong.
Thanks to all of you!
As for the cat i think of it like a barn cat too.

 

[bobbi-j]

Yes, they'll know where to find their food. They don't drink water at night anyway. Once they roost, they stay put until morning. Living in an urban area does not exempt you from predators. There are cats, stray dogs, raccoons, hawks and other critters that will find your flock. You never know what roams around until you have chickens. They area at the bottom of the food chain.

 

[four palms]

Thanks! Hawks and cats are the main concern, but for now there's nothing we can do except put them in a safe coop at dusk. (Fatten them up so the hawk can't carry them? That worked for a friend of mine who thought she'd lost her chicken but the large hen was dropped nearby).

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thanks everyone! We have a small standing coop built high to deter rats (chicks fly up to stump then up to door to get in). The coop is in an orchard, enclosed on sides but not top so were keeping them mostly in an enclosed small run witihin it - but not attached to coop. We will close the coopdoor at dusk but yes they will be vulnerable during the day but we live in an urban area.
So: if we leave the food in the coop theyll know to go there when hungry?
Its ok to leave them w/out water for the night?
So far im luring them into coop with food but hopefully theyll get into the habit. If i lock them in there for 3 days with no run im afraid theyll hate the coop, but sounds like im wrong.
Thanks to all of you!
As for the cat i think of it like a barn cat too.

Yup, as said, once they go to roost at night they won't budge till dawn. They won't eat, drink or lay eggs at night. That's why they're hungry and thirsty when they get up and lay shortly thereafter.

As for barn cats, I have one in each building and all they eat is peanut butter. Here are two of mine. They're shaped just like a 5 gallon bucket half full of water, and can catch as many as 5 mice a night. They work on rats too but don't eat my songbirds and lizards.

Thanks! Hawks and cats are the main concern, but for now there's nothing we can do except put them in a safe coop at dusk. (Fatten them up so the hawk can't carry them? That worked for a friend of mine who thought she'd lost her chicken but the large hen was dropped nearby).

Even small accipiter type hawks can and will kill large chickens. They can't carry them off, they just eat what they can on the spot. Even in an urban environment you'll still have raccoons, opossums, foxes, weasels, rats, etc.. Chicago has a huge raccoon problem. One of my friends that lives in the midst of a huge contiguous metro area has a bobcat living in her neighborhood and a family of foxes in her backyard. I'm in the burbs and coyotes and fox are a common sight in my yard.

 

[donrae]

Yup, as said, once they go to roost at night they won't budge till dawn. They won't eat, drink or lay eggs at night. That's why they're hungry and thirsty when they get up and lay shortly thereafter.

As for barn cats, I have one in each building and all they eat is peanut butter. Here are two of mine. They're shaped just like a 5 gallon bucket half full of water, and can catch as many as 5 mice a night. They work on rats too but don't eat my songbirds and lizards.






Even small accipiter type hawks can and will kill large chickens. They can't carry them off, they just eat what they can on the spot. Even in an urban environment you'll still have raccoons, opossums, foxes, weasels, rats, etc.. Chicago has a huge raccoon problem. One of my friends that lives in the midst of a huge contiguous metro area has a bobcat living in her neighborhood and a family of foxes in her backyard. I'm in the burbs and coyotes and fox are a common sight in my yard.

Now Canoe, did you get those barn cats spayed and give them all their shots?

Sorry, couldn't resist.....I love the buckets! I'd have to get creative with placement, though, or I'd have a wet Great Dane puppy dragging a 5 gallon bucket around with her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Absolutely, they can't reproduce. I have to get more from the big box stores or repurpose the food grade buckets after they serve their purpose for years of holding feed, seed or whatever.
I find places where the mice can climb to and where I find droppings, then just sit the bucket next to the spot. Otherwise you can use a board as a ramp. The mice climb up, reach out to eat the peanut butter and the bottle spins tumbling them into the water. They work like a champ and is the best multi catch trap I've used.

I forgot to get them their shots though.