Getting older chickens to start a new flock.

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In the summer heat, locking them in a coop for 3 days just might be a death sentence. I would set them up with a run attached to the coop. Even if they are ALWAYS free ranged, there are times IMO when it's just prudent to have the option of using a run:

Predator comes calling.

Training new birds to coop OR NEST.

You have a broody and chicks, and know that letting such little nuggets out to free range would be a death sentence for them.
 
:frow Welcome to BYC! :ya So sorry about your chickens... :hugs

Pork Pie Ken said:
Keeping the birds confined to the coop for 3 days ia usually sufficient for them to associate the coop as a place of refuge.
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I agree! Sometimes it is also necessary to put them up on the perches at night for the first week or so.
 
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PittMick said:
A couple of weeks ago my entire flock of free range hens was wiped out by a roaming dog, owners of dog are being cited. Left open the coop door. Very powerful lesson, devastating. Live in a rural area with 4 acres of land surrounded by wooded area, bears, foxes, coyotes, birds of prey, thus I expect to loose a bird or two every year and replace them every couple of years. There is plenty of good cover for protection from above and Australian Shepherd mostly around. I wish to buy new adult birds (14-16 weeks) from a local farm but not sure how to direct them to the coop at night most important. I’ll spoil them to ensure they remain in the area. I began the initial flock with chicks I hatched.
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That happened to me once when a dog squeezed under my run fencing because I had not dug the fence underground. It's terrible! Just be sure to predator proof your coop and run! For bringing them in at night, the first few days you may have to put them in the coop yourself, and once they get used to it they will walk in at night themselves. Lock them in at night so nothing can get them! Good luck! :)
 
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Welcome to Backyard Chickens!


lazy gardener said:
In the summer heat, locking them in a coop for 3 days just might be a death sentence. I would set them up with a run attached to the coop. Even if they are ALWAYS free ranged, there are times IMO when it's just prudent to have the option of using a run:

Predator comes calling.

Training new birds to coop OR NEST.

You have a broody and chicks, and know that letting such little nuggets out to free range would be a death sentence for them.
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X2!
 
ronott1 said:
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Welcome to Backyard Chickens!




X2!
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Our chicks had a big run, lots of water and food. It is that Ginger was already sick. Backyard chickens thought we should prepare for death back in May. I do think she would not have died if we were not away but she would not have made it through the winter.
 

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