New Ladies NEED HELP!!!!

[celticfarmer]

So on saturday I will be bringing home my first little laying flock. I could really use some help with my preparations.

How do I orient them to their new surroundings?

Do I keep them in the coop for a couple of days so they know where they live?

When can I let them range?


I'm getting a little anxious about it so I really appreciate any and all advise.

 

[faykokoWV]

Can you provide some more information

What breed will you be getting
How old are they
how big is your coop
do you have a run
what is the predator situation like where you live

 

[MareeZoCool]

from Ohio!
Do you have your coop built & ready for those hens? Is there a run or outdoor pen attached?

I've seen plenty of advice here to keep new chickens confined to their new home for a couple of days, so the get used to their home and decide to use a nesting box in your coop.

The attached pen or run, attached to your coop is a great idea. After a few weeks, you should be able to free-range your chickens during daylight hours. Be sure to get & keep a routine for lock-up at dusk. Don't get lazy! You surely don't want your hens roosting high up in trees at night, then hiding eggs out around your yard in the day.

 

[valentinebaby]

I agree with everything said above. If you don't have a run, I would definitely keep them in the coop so they know that's their safe place and because you do want them to see the nesting boxes. I would also go ahead and put in fake eggs or golf balls into the nest box so they know that looks like a good place to lay an egg. If you don't have a run, I would try to make up some sort of temporary fence around the coop and let them out into that for a few days before letting them completely free range. I'm sure there are others who would suggest other ways, but this is basically what I did and it worked great. However, that 1st day of free ranging I was like a Mom watching her child going on stage to sing for the 1st time! Breathed a huge sigh of relief when they knew to let themselves into the coop.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Keep them in the coop at least 3 days, maybe even a week. Then they will recognize the coop as home, and they'll go there at dusk on their own. Then you can let them out to forage.

 

[celticfarmer]

Sorry I should've given you guys more information to work with.

I will be picking up 4 buff Orps, the coop is built, there is no run attached yet, and the preditor population is pretty high.

I was planning on putting them in the coop for a couple of days and then letting them into the fenced in garden for some supervised play time sometime next week.

Because there are lots of hungry coyotes in the area, I won't be letting them out unsupervised until I can get a coyote proof run built.

Thanks again.