My Introduction and newbie questions

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BillyL

BillyL

Hatching
Mar 17, 2015
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My family lives in NW Louisiana. I've wanted backyard chickens for a long time now, but wifey always said no way! The other day, she sent me a screen shot of someone local wanting to get rid of 2 - 1yr old Buff Orps. I was shocked and of course said yes! I thought she was joking! Spent the weekend building a coop onto the side of my shop. Picked up the girls last night! Kids, me, and actually even wife are all excited! We are now proud owners of a pair of backyard chickens!

The previous owner let them "free range" in a small yard. They roosted on a chair on his patio, but would get in the coop to lay. Now that they are in a new environment, how would I go about getting them trained to roost in their new coop and lay in their new nest boxes? I noticed the previous owner had hay in the coop and nest boxes. I had bought pine shavings and would prefer it over the hay. Will they adapt easily to the pine shavings? I also intend to let them have free range of my backyard.

Would appreciate any advice on my questions.
 
Hello and Welcome to BYC! Congrats on your new flock! I'm guessing your hens will adapt pretty quickly to their new surroundings. I've moved hens from place to place before, and it will cause some stress so you probably won't get any eggs for a few days. Are they sleeping on the floor? The may need a little encouragement, go into the coop at night and put them on the roosts. You can buy some plastic easter eggs or golf balls to get them to lay where they're supposed to. Enjoy your flock!
 
Thanks for the reply. Good to know they adapt to new surroundings even as adults. I just brought them home last night and kept them in the cage I picked them up in for the night in the garage. This evening I will try to herd them into the coop and shut the door. If they wont go in, I will wait till they perch somewhere, then pick them up and put them in there. I have some golf balls, so I will put some in the nest boxes. A guy at work said to do that, but I thought he was joking! (he doesn't have chickens)

Thanks again!
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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The best way to train birds to know where home is, is to lock them in the area/coop for a couple days. This teaches them it is safe to sleep there, lay their eggs there and they will automatically return to this area each night as well.

Newly moved birds can be stressed for a while. So be easy on them, reassure them all is well and try not to handle them too much at first. Go sit with them and talk quietly to them, letting them know all is well. They may hold off on laying for a couple weeks too due to the move. This is normal.

Enjoy your new flock! If you have any other questions about them, feel free to ask. Welcome to our flock!
 
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Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! X3 on leave them locked in the coop/run for a few days until they are roosting and laying in the nest boxes (if they don't quit laying because of the move). They should adapt to the shavings just fine, I much prefer shavings on the floor, shavings are fine in the nest boxes also.
 
Thanks for the advice on chicken training. Hopefully they will take to their new home well and be happy chickens!
 
Welcome to BYC!
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I'm glad you joined our community.

You've received some good advice from the above posters! Good luck with your new birds.
 
Welcome to Backyard chickens. Sounds like you got an instant flock. You do realize that free ranging has it's dangers - everything loves to eat chickens. With only two hens, you could end up chicken -less in a very short time. I'm sure they could adapt to a run rather than free range, if you consider that.
 

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