Moving chickens to a new home

[Jose21]

We need to move our four hens to a new area in the school where they are going to live - does anyone have any suggestions as to how I should manage this? Should I move everything and then leave the chickens in their (9ft) run and coop for a few days (not sure that they would like it, but I can see it might make them feel safe) or leave them in for a night, then let them free range in the fenced area that we have prepared for them the next day - shutting them up as usual at night? It is a good size but not as big as the garden they are currently in.
2 of the chickens are 16 weeks old and have been with us since hatching and the other two arrived two weeks ago and are a few weeks older.

And could they come back to my house in the holidays, for example?

I have no idea whether chickens are portable - any advice very welcome - I am sure someone out there has had to move chickens.

 

[welasharon]

I just moved my seramas out of their pen for a couple of days to renovated it. They fussed and carried on like they didn't know what to do when it started to get dark even though their same nest boxes were there. I finally had to pick them up and put them in their places several times to show them. Then a couple days later...all over again when I put them back in the new space. THis time I let them figure it out. In two nights they adjusted. During the day the didn't much care. THey were curious about the new stuff. I would just put them in at night and go from there. I don't think they particularly like being moved but I would bring them home during holidays....just to keep an eye out for them. We seldom have problems with students messing with things around campus but I would be concerned about leaving them there unattended.
sharon

 

[tuckertori]

Wow! You keep chickens at school? I had to get permission to bring my chicks in for a day when they were 3 weeks old. I would love to be able to have chickens at school and know the kids and families would too. Risk management would never go for it. I guess a few years ago they stopped letting people hatch eggs at school. Glad to know there is some real life learning going on out there.

 

[NYRIR]

Out here one of the 5th grade teachers hatches ducklings in the classroom and has a small sandbox he keeps them in . The kids love it