I bought a small batntam flock today. One beautiful roo and 5 hens. They haven't been socialized and are 8-10 months old. They are in a very small coop. I don't have a run for them yet. I am not sure how long I should keep them in their coop before I let them free range. I honestly do not know how we would get them back in at night. We spent alot of time holding them. Only one of the hens is a bit snippy. The roo is really sweet, once you catch him. Who else has brought in adult chickens and what advice do you have for me? Thanks
I would maybe keep them in the coop a couple days, then let them out very late in the evening, and when it gets roosting time, they may go back in, if not, find where they went to sleep at and have them walk back into the coop. Set them right at the doorway. Make sure they have food and water in there and they should catch on, that is where they sleep!
We just bought 2 adult flocks!! The first ones we brought home 2 weeks ago. We have a coop with a run and we did not let them out for about 2 weeks. We were told one week, but I wanted to be sure!!! We just started them free ranging this weekend. We did as ibpboo said and waited until a few hours before dusk and let them out. Gosh it is sooo fun listening to them rummage around in the woods!! And sure enough, they all came marching back to the coop for bed!! Our first flock is not socialized either....but the other ones we just got are and they are so much fun. I'm hoping the first ones will come around after getting attention for awhile. I would love to get a couple of bantams!! Aren't they just adorable?? Good luck to you!! Amy
Okay. So I will just keep them in for a while. After just handling them today, they seemed less frantic to get away and settled in our arms quicker. I just went out and 3 hens were in their nests, and the other 2 hens and the roo were at the tippy top of the pen on a roost. Gosh it was cute watching them sitting there. I have never seen chickens roost before. Neat neat creatures. Thanks so much. Amy, the bantams are really cute. We love them. We have 2 pullets that are 6 weeks and still in the house. They are like little doves. Just sooooo sweet! Enjoy your flocks!
Please remember that if you already have chickens, you'll need to quarantine the new birds away from your existing flock. Check out this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12751
I will do this. Oh boy. I never even thought of this. I can certainly quaratine them for life. Now I am nervous I brought them here. They are look great. But what the hello do I know? I will just hope I haven't made a huge mistake. There is really so much to learn. I have to post EVERYTHING before I make anymore major decisions. Thanks so much.
So I thought long and hard about this and decided to give up the flock I got yesterday. I found someone who is coming to pick them up today. I am actually relieved because having standards and bantams was going to cause us some challenges as newbies. Thanks for these thoughts. I have found some ameraucana chicks to add to my babies. So this will be a better plan. I really appreciate your posting Speckledhens posting Red rooster. I may not have seen it.