New here and new flock

[jenndk]

This is such a great site, so much information in one place! I have had chickens in the past, had a bunch of game chickens, mostly let them free range and about 18 months ago a friend gave my son some game chickens and we just turned them loose on our place and they have done very well. They roost in the barn and we feed them every evening.
We just added a new bunch of hens to our flock, some Barred Rock and a big white hen that I am not sure what breed she is. We converted a horse stall into a coop and have everyone in there, even our original game chickens. They have been there for 3 days and I am wondering if I can let them out to free range now and be able to get them back in at night...will they sort of know where "home" is after 3 days? they seem like a pretty calm bunch.

 

[cubalaya]

congrats on the chickens. the collective knowledge on this site is awesome. i usually wait a week to let the loose when they are in new surroundings.

 

[jenndk]

Today is going to be a much nicer day than what we have had, and I know our game birds will come back in so I thought maybe the others will be likely to follow? I just hate seeing them cooped up and thought after 4 nights and 3 days they would know where the "house" is and where they get fed, plus I got a couple eggs yesterday and one of them was brown so I know it was from one of the new girls. I thought if they were starting to lay then they must be settling in pretty well?

We hung nest boxes a couple feet off the ground and filled them with hay...is that a good way to do it? I had one box up right away and that is where the eggs were. Yesterday we put up a few more.
Our game chickens always just layed eggs wherever they found a spot they liked, I tried to encourage them to lay in the barn. I kept a few buckets in a back corner, tipped on there side with lots of hay to nest in and that usually worked, although sometimes they would still make me hunt out their new laying location.

My son is so excited about the new chickens. He loves his original birds, but has been wanting to get more for awhile. He is wanting some guineas too, but I am not sure yet. We do have a lot of ticks here though, and I have heard they are great for that.

 

[aart]

Maybe let them out late, so they only have a few hours before dark to wander close.

But you might have to put them all back in the new coop if they don't go back on their own.

If you want them all to use the new coop you'll have to make sure they get back there every night for a week or two until they catch on.

Good Luck!

 

[jenndk]

Well, so far, so good! I let them out of the coop, first I opened the stall door all the way up and we have a board nailed up across the bottom of the doorway, about 18 inches high, so they took a few minutes, but the all hopped over it and came out under the shed, then got into the sun a bit and were really enjoying themselves. Then my old gelding and the mini-donkeys had to come and see what was going on and the chickens got a bit spooked and they all headed right back into the coop/stall. That made me happy because it seemed like they all knew right where to go! I then fixed the door so its just a little bit open, and its so that it can't open any further or close all the way, plus they still have to hop over the board. They all came out and after they scratched around for awhile, I was able to quietly herd them back in. I left it like that and they were back out and about a bit later. I will put them up for the night and close the door this evening before we have to go to my son's baseball game.

 

[roostersandhens]

If you leave them in the coop for 1 day, 1 night they SHOULD go back to the coop. Oh and the white hen COULD be aLeghorn they are the most common white breed.
Good Luck!