I think my hens hate Me :(

[CoopCrazy]

I have 4 EE's that i got from a local farmer I have them in new 4x6 Coop with 7x4 run. I truly think they hate me, they don't like to go outside even though it's been really nice 78 yesterday only 40's today. I give them treats of rabbit pellets or bird mix( corn, sunflower, peanuts,) But they just want to sit inside. I have gotten two eggs from one of them but hte others just don't do Anything. Do they need to settle in? I thought they might be cold due to some huddling at night so i bought them a heat lamp today and have in the coop. Maybe that will help. I also started with a light on a 14 hour timer hoping that will help others to lay. Any advice?

 

[freddy22]

the only thing i would say is let them get used to it

 

[Schultz]

Give them a little time, it took our girls a few weeks to settle in.

 

[#1California Chick]

How old are your new chickens? How long have you had them?? Were they all laying at their old home? What was the farmer feeding them?

Sometimes it takes a while for new chickens to "settle in".

Your coop sounds plenty "roomy", but your run may be a little small. The general recommendation here is 10 sq feet per hen.

Good Luck!!

 

[themillican]

I got 4 full grown chickens too that were scared of me until I discovered meal worms. They are like crack to my chickens. You can get them at a feed store or at Petsmart for $0.11 each, we buy them 50 at a time in a small container with their food in it so they last awhile, costs about $5. Now anytime I go outside they run to the close end of their pen and cluck like crazy hoping that they are going to get their fix. I have even gotten them to start eating out of my hand (only the worms, not anything else).

Also, I am not an expert but 40s aren't low enough to have a heat lamp (imo). We get that low every night and they are fine. I have heard that having a heat lamp can be bad because they get too used to it and then if it goes out for whatever reason they freeze.

Mine didn't start laying regurarly for like a week. For the first week it was 1/2 eggs a day, then after 2 weeks we started getting 3/4 eggs a day. They have to work their way into it.

 

[CoopCrazy]

I don't know how old they are. Sweet country gentleman and his daughter sold them to me. They had 100's of chickens so could'nt tell me if they were laying or not. They think they are around 8 months though. I understand the run is a lil small and am working on making it larger, I have spent so much money on every thing else that the run will have to wait til payday. They arent hardly using it now, so i think theyll be fine plus i move it daily, for fresh grass and scratching. About the lamp i just wasnt sure. Last night they were huddled in one corner when i went to check on them. But i can shut it off if need too.

 

[CoopCrazy]

Just two days, no idea on feed.(lots of bread)

Will definintly get some mealworms used to get those for my bearded dragon.

 

[dixiechick]

Quote:
I agree...they can be bought/bribed. I was lucky enough to buy 2 chickens from oldtimegator..and at first they were guarded....now, they are blazing the trail to me to be first to get the treats. They'll come around.

 

[Chicken Woman]

Do you mean they are huddeld together on the floor ? Do they have a perch that they can access ? If they are standard size hen's the perch should be a 2 by4 about 2 to 3 feet off the floor/ They need 12 inches of perch per bird.

 

[CoopCrazy]

Yes they have 2x4 4ft across the coop. They roost but last night 3 were huddled on the floor and 1 on rthe roost.