Has anybody ever tried this????????

[cmom]

I want to get all of my chickens to live in the same coop. Every night they always go back to the coop they have been brought up in. I would like to switch the birds and put them in different coops. The big girls in the little girls coop and the little girls in the big girls coop. Has anyone ever tried this. We are going to build a new barn with a new coop attached, but I would like them to get used to sleeping together. They currently lay their eggs in each others nest boxes. The big girls are 2 yrs old and the little girls are 5 months old. They are all about the same in size. There are pictures on my BYC Page.

 

[miss_jayne]

i have moved mine before. they are usually confused for a few days. they are creatures of habit.

you'll have to be consistent and it may be a little work, but it will probably work out fine in the end.

 

[Snakeoil]

Yep, what Miss Jayne said will work. You can catch your birds with a fish net fairly easy if there in there coop and then transfer to the coop you want them to stay in.

 

[cmom]

Well I went out and switched the big girls with the little girls. The little girls are in the big girls coop and vice versa. The little girls are exploring. The big girls won't get on the little girls roosts. They are piled on top of the nest boxes or on the floor. DH and I are going to modify the roosts tomorrow in the little girls coop. What a time I had trying to catch them all and switch them. They hate the net!!! I'm going to let them out into the runs tomorrow but not in the yard and the run gates are going to stay shut so I can heard them back into the same coops tomorrow night. I'm going to do this for a few days and nights. I put some fresh pine shavings on the floors of both coops. There are nest boxes in both coops and some of the big girls have already layed in the little girl's nest boxes and vice versa. Also both coops have water and all are on the same feed now. Next weekend I'll let them back into the yard out of the runs.

 

[dancingbear]

When I need to re-arrange chickens I do it after dark when they're on the roosts. Much less traumatic for all of us, no chasing anybody with a net. Just gently take them off the roosts and put them back on the new roosts in the new location.

If you wait 2 or 3 days before you let them out to run around, it'll be a lot less hassle. Then alternate days letting one bunch at a time out. Otherwise they'll probably go back to their old places.

 

[orchidchick]

It took three times of putting everyone where they belonged in their respective new roost areas before they started putting themselves to bed. I would wait until everyone had settled in for the night before I "re-arranged" them, and then they just started doing it on their own.

I did close off the small coop in the late afternoon so they wouldn't go there to roost. Now I just use it as a feeding station, and as an emergency ward if I need it (it's small).

Orchidchick