i somehow acquired 2 runaways and i have questions. please help

[BDutch]

also! would it be better to build a better coop and give them time to get used to it before bringing in new ones?

I would build a new coop and put the new ones in there. That way there is not so much (way less )territorial behaviour to be expected. If the new coop is better the other two probably join one day.

Keep the old coop. A second coop is always handy if you have a broody or a sick chicken.

 

[RoyalChick]

Keep the old coop. A second coop is always handy if you have a broody or a sick chicken.

Very true.

 

[pollipazzi]

Sounds like procrastination to me!
Life with chickens always involves needing more chickens and constantly improving their accommodations!

i just want to be smarter about it than what happened the first time

 

[pollipazzi]

I would build a new coop and put the new ones in there. That way there is not so much (way less )territorial behaviour to be expected. If the new coop is better the other two probably join one day.

Keep the old coop. A second coop is always handy if you have a broody or a sick chicken.

i will keep the old coop. the farm show is in august.
i was hoping to build a new one very soon and put it where the old one is. have a little time for them to get used to it. then put the new ones in the old coop with the little run, so they can see them and stuff. maybe your suggestion is better.

how long does it usually take for them to get used to a new coop. i was reading that it can be stressful for them?

 

[pollipazzi]

also! neighbour friend spoke to original chicken guy (i feel like i should call him colonel sanders but maybe that's not appropriate)
turns out he does have a rooster. and he got thelma and louise at the poultry sale we went to a few weeks ago. with the lonely little rooster.
that one happens once a month, i believe. but i think it is best to get there super early. and prepared! lol!

 

[RoyalChick]

i will keep the old coop. the farm show is in august.
i was hoping to build a new one very soon and put it where the old one is. have a little time for them to get used to it. then put the new ones in the old coop with the little run, so they can see them and stuff. maybe your suggestion is better.

how long does it usually take for them to get used to a new coop. i was reading that it can be stressful for them?

I have only traded out a coop once and it was a big upgrade. I feel like mine were in the ‘finish it already we are all packed up and ready to move’.
Don’t remember them needing any time to get used to it!
I have read lots of posts on BYC where people say to keep them locked in for a few days or even a week so they know where home is.
But my sense is that is more about not getting lost when free ranging rather than feeling settled in new accommodations.
Sorry, can’t help more than that.

 

[pollipazzi]

I have only traded out a coop once and it was a big upgrade. I feel like mine were in the ‘finish it already we are all packed up and ready to move’.
Don’t remember them needing any time to get used to it!
I have read lots of posts on BYC where people say to keep them locked in for a few days or even a week so they know where home is.
But my sense is that is more about not getting lost when free ranging rather than feeling settled in new accommodations.
Sorry, can’t help more than that.

that does help! i won't lock them in. i learned my lesson. they do seem happy with the run so i don't know if they would have trouble with a new coop. this one has seemed to become their little safe house.

 

[BDutch]

how long does it usually take for them to get used to a new coop. i was reading that it can be stressful for them?

I really cant say from experience. But count on several weeks maybe a month for young hens. The one hen I ever did add to my flock needed several weeks to understand she was not the flock-master.
Only adult roosters are often accepted immediately.

It’s a bit risky to add new chickens from somewhere else, especially from markets. Thats why I prefer to buy fertilised eggs if I want more hens.

 

[pollipazzi]

thank you! i'm taking everything in and giving it a good think.
if it wasn't the rooster risk, i would definitely do eggs.

it's a rainy sleepy day.

 

[BDutch]

if it wasn't the rooster risk, i would definitely do eggs.

If I buy hens, I know the males (or most of them) are killed by the brooder/seller anyway. If I give away a rooster, I know there is a risk he gets killed by the new owner. Whats best from the point of view of the cockerels?

The times I let my broodies hatch fertilised eggs, there was always at least one cockerel. Most of them found a good life elsewhere. Some I wasn't sure about, but I prefer the hassle of rehoming to buying pullets and putting them in quarantine.

Until now I never got stuck with a cockerel I couldn’t keep any longer bc as long as it is winter the neighbours don’t mind if he starts to crow. Twice I could keep a cockerel for offspring before he had to leave.

I would hate it if I ever have to kill a chicken for whatever reason so I did some research to find the best way if I ever need to kill a cockerel or a very poor sick chicken. Using an airtight box and using ether or starting fluid seems the right thing to do for me. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...re-culling-the-injured-and-sick-babies.72140/