I have a flock of 7 gals and we are moving soon and of course taking the babies with us. I have heard that after moving their egg production can stop completely. Is there anything I can do ahead of time to prevent this? Or a special way to move them without causing stress? Also they have recently not been staying in the coop at night and I have been rounding them all up at night. Should I continue to do this or just let them sleep where they want? How cold is too cold to let them sleep outside? Thanks in advance for the answers!!
Help prepare them for change by moving around things in their environment. I did a move with 35 birds and got eggs the same day. Production did not cease or drop off at all! We only moved 45 minutes away though.
I'd like to second aoxa's suggestion. My chickens experience changes and disruptions to their daily lives on a fairly consistent basis. Nothing too alarming, but we fuss with the inside of the coop, adding roosts, moving roosts, sectioning off a brooder, opening up an old brooder, etc. We also move things around in the run, let them out to free range regularly, give them stimulation activities to keep them busy when they're penned up, etc. Their environment is always changing, so when we sell chickens to new homes, those hens usually end up laying within a day or two of arriving. They're already so comfortable with the idea of change, so a move isn't nearly as upsetting to them than it might be if they spent their whole lives with the same setup.
This also helps when I try to integrate new birds. They are less bothered by change in the pecking order if things are frequently changing. My birds are curious of new things. I've started them very young. I exposed newly hatched chicks to dirt clods in the brooder, new roosts, moved their water/food frequently and offered fresh fruit/veggies as treats EARLY. I have also not done this. The difference between their personality is astounding! The ones not exposed to new things are timid and fearful and easily stressed when I go to let them free range for the first time. Exposing them makes all the difference!
