Moving out to the coop & run

[DraftXJumper]

Good morning! I know I have read to lock up the girls in their new coop for several days so that they know it's "home." However, my question is, do I have to lock them up in the coop itself? Or is keeping them in the coop & run (no free-ranging) for several days enough? I just wouldn't want to keep them locked up in the coop for several days if it's going to be too warm for them (in the 80s). I also have some similarly aged girls in quarantine right now, so that will be an adventure introducing them as well. They still have awhile of quarantine left though. I'm hoping since they're of similar ages (6 weeks & 9 weeks), there won't be *too* much bullying. I'm going to let the original girls get to know their coop before we start that adventure...

 

[lazy gardener]

I would never lock birds into a coop for that acclimation time in hot weather. A secure run/coop set up will be fine. But, you may need to herd the babies into the coop at dusk for a few days till they know it's home for them. In your situation, I think I'd shut them in the coop towards the end of the day, and let them out into the secure run in the morning, and move forward from there.

As for adding the quarantined babies, there will be some bullying. The more you are adding, the less total bullying since the established birds can't gang up on the newbies. Key is having plenty of space, multi height hang out spots, multiple feed/water stations, out of sight retreats (but no dead ends where they can get cornered) and lots of diversion (deep litter with a liberal application of scratch grain).

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I would never lock birds into a coop for that acclimation time in hot weather. A secure run/coop set up will be fine. But, you may need to herd the babies into the coop at dusk for a few days till they know it's home for them. In your situation, I think I'd shut them in the coop towards the end of the day, and let them out into the secure run in the morning, and move forward from there.

As for adding the quarantined babies, there will be some bullying. The more you are adding, the less total bullying since the established birds can't gang up on the newbies. Key is having plenty of space, multi height hang out spots, multiple feed/water stations, out of sight retreats (but no dead ends where they can get cornered) and lots of diversion (deep litter with a liberal application of scratch grain).

X 2 on all counts. Also, dealing with integration is another reason to allow access to as much space as possible (not confining to just the coop) during waking hours. Change things up as much as you can - even just rearranging things in the run each morning before you let them out can help make it a "new world" for them to explore vs. spend their time focused on putting each other in their place.

 

[driver]

I just went through this. I put them in the coop and run, and every night for the first week or so, I had to go out and usher them all into the coop for the night. Now, for the last several days, they're already in the coop when I go out there to close the door.

 

[Wawa Coffee]

This is all good info. I was wondering what sense it made during their third week to keep baby chicks under a heat lamp at 85 degrees if it was 90 outside. I'm guessing it is safe to move chicks outside in that temp as long as they are safe at night?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

 

[lazy gardener]

Absolutely. But, the question for you Wawa Coffee is: what is your night time temp?

 

[GuppyTJ]

The question this raised for me is... what type of ventilation does your coop have? You may want to think about this. If your coop when the door is closed is warmer than the outside air, you may want to add more ventilation. Just a thought.