Moving On Up To A Deluxe Penthouse In The Sky

[Adopted Chickenman]

To quote MPC "Hey, chicken addicts! Did you outgrow that eenie-weenie coop you started with last year?" Yes that was me, I purchased a Saltbox chicken coop last year for my first group of mixed breed chickens (5). And now with chicken mathmatics, I had to move up in size to the 12 to 15 chicken coop (purchased from another company). With 24 square feet of space not including the next boxes, this coop is one that I can grow with! Once my new chicks (6 at 4 weeks old) grow up alittle more I plan to use the salt box as a separator until I feel they can sort out the pecking order in a decent way. My problem is, eventhough my pullets are laying some in the larger coop, they still like going ontop/inside the smaller coop. Today, I found two eggs in the smaller coop and none in the larger coop. How do I evict the pullets from their orginal coop? I have tried to place them each in the larger coop over night and lock the door. The next morning I let them out but they return to their old resting places and at night they refuse to go back to their new coop. Any inputs on this matter. Thanks in advance!!

 

[joletabey]

If your temperatures allow it, lock them in the new one for a day or two, and shut the old one up so they don't have access to it. Give them treats inside the new one, put a golf ball in the nesting box -

 

[elmo]

Block them out of the smaller coop. Chickens are creatures of habit, but tend to accept new routines pretty quickly.

 

[blefky]

To quote MPC "Hey, chicken addicts! Did you outgrow that eenie-weenie coop you started with last year?"


Ahem. Yes, MPC I did outgrow the chicken coop I started with THIS year. You see, when I purchased (from you) my coop built to house "12 - 15 chickens" I was naive enough to believe you. Being new to chickens I assumed I was making the best purchase possible for my girls - even though it was a stretch financially. So now I have a 6 x 4 foot coop with a dozen hens living in it. Not exactly the 4 square feet of space per bird deemed adequate and healthy. This "custom" Amish coop was also built with inadequate ventilation, and way too many nest boxes (6) for the half dozen birds it SHOULD accomodate. I did build a more than adequate run, with plenty of space for them, so thus far they've been fine - they're outside almost all day and only go in to sleep. However, with cold weather in the not so distant future I am now scrambling for ideas to increase their living area before it gets cold and becomes an issue. For anyone perusing the forum, having not yet started with chickens, be aware that most companies and many individuals who sell coops vastly overstate the number of birds who can be housed in them. As someone on BYC schooled me earlier this year, "You might be able to stuff a dozen birds in there, that doesn't mean they'll be healthy or happy about it". Amen. Hope someone learns from my mistake. Search the coop section of the forum and read all you can BEFORE you begin, you'll save yourself time, money and aggravation in the long run.

There. Feels better having gotten that off my chest!

Oh, and to Adopted Chickenman, I agree with the other posters, when weather permits, close them in their new homes for a few days. Once they're comfortable roosting some place they seem to tend to stick with it.

 

[Adopted Chickenman]

Just an update. Closed off my old saltbox coop yesterday which I purchased from MPC and boy you should have heard the protest from my three layer pullets! Cry babies! Never heard such a ruckus but I guess mother nature got the best of them and they retreated to the new coop and layed their eggs. I also placed BOSS in the new coop and when the pullets heard the shake of the boss container they all came running into the new coop. They still squak about the old coop but oh well. This Wednesday there is going to be a break in the weather; the temps are suposed to be in the 80's with the nights in the high 50's to the low 60's. If this holds true and my girls are not bedding down in the new coop, I will place them in it and lock the door behind them. Hopefully this won't need to happen.

We shall see.

OBTW, let out my six four weekers today for a hour to start adjustments. They enjoyed them selfs and even layed down in the warmth of the sun, something they were not used to and even chased a few flying bugs. I think I will start a daily routine until they reach 6 weeks and then I will transfer them to the saltbox coop. My pullets really didn't seem to care on way or the other about the newbies. Red (RIR) and Ester (EE) were the only ones that approached them. Piper, Buffy, and Agnes (PBR, BO, Australorp) never gave them a second look.

Once again, thanks for the info. Adopted Chickenman (Marty)