I’m new to chickens and got 4 female 7 month old dominickers from a neighbor. We have an electric fence for them that’s huge and a nice coop with an unfortunately inaccessible roost (already thinking of the next coop or how to modify the existing one). We are on day 4 now and the hens just won’t come down. I have great food for them, have done my homework and read several books and websites and offer them good layer crumble and veggie and fruit treats. I maybe see them once a day early in the morning or not at all down from the roost.the roost is secluded and dark and warm with nesting boxes on the sides. I can’t force them down because I can’t reach them. I check on them and they look ok and make contented noises but I’m worried they aren’t eating or drinking enough and have no idea what to do. Is this normal? Also 2 of the 4 have pecked butts from the other two but they came to me that way. My fear is they will starve to death if this keeps up. I know that they know how to come down because i have seen them down out of the roost a few times. Any suggestions are much appreciated. Thank you!!!
Welcome. 4 days is nothing. They are terrified and have no idea what has happened to them. It will take some time before they get brave. I've never had a chicken starve. If they weren't handled much they could also be afraid of people. As long as the food and water is going down I wouldn't worry too much. Give them time to adjust to their new home. It's too bad we can't just explain things to them.
G’Day from down under Stormyweather Welcome! I agree with OHLD in that they probably need more time to adjust, everything is new and scary You might want to also Find Your State Thread and pop in and say hello. Personally, I have found the Topic of the Week articles a great resource and a one stop shop for questions which may have already been discussed within the BYC membership group. One of those is Topic of the Week - Raising People Friendly Poultry which you might find helpful. I do hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun. Good luck!
Welcome to BYC. I also agree with oldhens - nothing to worry about. Here’s a link to the Articles section - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/ There you’ll find lots of information on almost every aspect of keeping chickens - from coop building ideas, to incubating eggs. There’s a link on the page above to the Learning Centre - it’s a great resource. If you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.
Chickens get very stressed by change of coop, pred attacks, flock members sold, new birds brought it. When they feel secure, they will go back to their usual ways.
helloand welcome to backyard chickens!we're so happy you've decided to join us i hope you enjoy your time here.
Welcome to BYC. Nice to meet you. One thing that comes to mind is. If your roost is high do they have something to jump down on Midway to the ground so they won't hurt their feet jumping from a high roost? I had high roost but some lower at different levels to help them get up and down so they would not get bumble foot. Just a thought. They will adjust. It just take a bit for them.
I agree with the other greeters...chickens don't like change, give them some time and get their coop/roosts situation fixed. Thanks for joining us!