Moving Grown Hens to New Coop

[BonnieBlue]

I have 2 hens, just over 2 years old. In (hopefully) just a couple of weeks, I will be moving, and moving them to a new coop.

My plan is to take them from their existing coop late at night after they have been on their roost a couple of hours, place them in dog transport crates, and take them to their new home, which is only 30 minutes away. When they get there, I will take them from their crates and place them on the roost, and leave them to settle (hopefully) for the night. I'm kind of hoping that when it gets light, they won't be freaked out, but will just go "whoa, mom won the lottery". (It's a much larger coop.)

Will that work? Or do I need to go about this a completely different way?

Their outside run is ginormous compared to the one they have now, but I plan on keeping them locked up in the coop for a week to home to it before letting them into their run. Is a week long enough?

They are going from a 16 sq ft coop to an 88 sq ft coop, and the new run is 960 sq ft, compared to the 56 sq ft run they have now. I know once they adjust, they are going to be much happier (at least until they find out they are getting little sisters lol), but I want to make that initial move as smooth as possible.

Thoughts? Advice?

Related question for those who have moved mature hens... Did they quit laying very long from the adjustment period? I have no idea what to expect.

 

[WingItRanch]

I think you have a great plan. I don't have experience moving adults but it sounds like your plan will work the best. I also agree that keeping them in the coop for a week will help them adjust. Too much newness at once will probably be overwhelming. I do know there's a possibility the stress of the changes may stop their egg laying but hopefully not for long.

Congrats on the new place!

 

[BonnieBlue]

I think you have a great plan. I don't have experience moving adults but it sounds like your plan will work the best. I also agree that keeping them in the coop for a week will help them adjust. Too much newness at once will probably be overwhelming. I do know there's a possibility the stress of the changes may stop their egg laying but hopefully not for long.

Congrats on the new place!

Thank you. This move and life change is a long time in the making. Maybe I should be taking bets on who will settle in the quickest... me or my hens. lol

 

[Mrs. K]

It is a great plan, but you don’t need to lock them up for a week if the coop is attached to the run. Birds should return to the last place they roosted.

While I have seen this advice several times, it is really only important in coops with out runs. Then you might need to do this.

 

[BonnieBlue]

It is a great plan, but you don’t need to lock them up for a week if the coop is attached to the run. Birds should return to the last place they roosted.

While I have seen this advice several times, it is really only important in coops with out runs. Then you might need to do this.

Thank you. I thought it was all new homes.

I know they are going to be happy having a large run to really be able to stretch and explore so I'm glad they don't have to be cooped up for so long.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It is a great plan, but you don’t need to lock them up for a week if the coop is attached to the run. Birds should return to the last place they roosted.

While I have seen this advice several times, it is really only important in coops with out runs. Then you might need to do this.

I respectfully disagree. It's great when it works but I've had to coop train chickens when I've moved them, even if they were locked in the new coop overnight and roosted in there. They were confined in a run.

I've kept chickens in the coop only for a week or more and when I let them out to the run I've still had to coop train them by putting them in every night until they finally went in on their own. The coop had plenty of natural light so they could see to go inside as it started getting dark. Keeping them locked in the new coop for a week often works, but often does not mean always. Sometimes they coop train themselves.

You do not have to leave them locked in the coop when you move them. They may put themselves to bed in there the first night anyway. If they don't it is usually not hard to catch them when it gets dark and put them in there until they get in the habit of sleeping in there. You can make it work either way.

 

[Appalachickens]

I haven’t had to move grown chickens, but when I’ve moved growing chicks out to the coop, they were ecstatic to have more space. I moved them in the morning and they happily put themselves to bed in the coop the first night. Even the first night the younger ones got to join their older sisters, I tried putting them on a lower roosting bar after dusk, but they all climbed up to the high roosting bars with the others. I suspect it’s not going to be a big problem for you since it is such an upgrade for the chickens.

 

[Mrs. K]

Ridge runner is right is saying it might work, might not. Do be sure and check near dark.

However, I do worry about the potential to over heat birds in July locked in a new to you coop. Granted it is a bigger coop, and not a lot of birds.

 

[BonnieBlue]

Ridge runner is right is saying it might work, might not. Do be sure and check near dark.

However, I do worry about the potential to over heat birds in July locked in a new to you coop. Granted it is a bigger coop, and not a lot of birds.

The coop has an air conditioner in it, in case needed, and a lot of ventilation. I am finishing it over the next week, and passive ventilation, not counting windows, will be 12-15 sq feet. Windows will add another 12.5 sq ft. I will also have two exhaust fans to pull air out on the peaks of each end, which will help pull air through the windows and vents on each side. I live in a hot humid environment, and added an AC, not to keep it cold, but a decent temperature and lower humidity. I have one on my tiny coop because when these girls were just 6 weeks old, we had record setting heat. I planned for this coop to have one, just to be on the safe side in case we have something like that again, plus they have to be confined due to a hurricane.

I guess my biggest question mark at this time is will I, or won't I, be herding chickens into a coop.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I guess my biggest question mark at this time is will I, or won't I, be herding chickens into a coop.

"Maybe." Every flock is different.

I would split the difference: confine for a few days and then let them out and hope for the best, but be ready to manually move them in at dusk if needed.

I don't recall there being any downtime with laying when I swapped my hens to a bigger coop but my new coop was only a few feet away, which makes a huge difference. Predictably most of the hens went and sat outside the old one the first night, but by the second night they were all onboard with the new spacious coop.