New to Chickens

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leont

In the Brooder
May 23, 2020
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Hi All,

First time chicken owner from UK, I collected two Rhode Rock POL hens only this morning locally. Over the past couple of weeks I have spent hours on the forum reading up on as much as possible, now the chickens are here I though I best introduce myself as I already have a couple of questions :)

The chickens will be for egg laying only, once settled in they will have free run of the garden (approx 7m x 25m) so its a fair size area for two chickens. The coop and run were pre fab and relatively small and I am already wishing I had built my own. They are happy in the coop settling in, they did go into the coop themselves from the run after an hour when they realised that's were the food and water is at the moment. I am planning on having the food / water and grit etc in the run at a later date.

The run again is rather small, although they will be having the full garden to play in once they have acclimatised to the coop so I didn't think it would be an issue. I have read its best to keep them in the coop for 2 days then allow them into the run after that to monitor them going back in before dark although I'm now not sure how feasible this will be with the coop / run being on the small side. The run is 1.5m x 1m and the coop is 1.5m x 1m which now doesnt seem big enough for a whole week while they acclimatise to their new house. Should I extend the run temporarily or will this area be ok for the time being?

Another question I have is while they are in the coop for the next day or so It is rather dark, should I add some light for the time being or will they be best in the dark?

Thanks In advance :)
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
if your coop is what I think it is I would not lock them into the coop. Leave the pop door open so they can go into their teeny tiny little run. Yes you should most certainly extend the run. Ideally you should start from scratch and try to build something of a more appropriate size for them. Have you considered converting a small shed into your coop?
 
DobieLover said:
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
if your coop is what I think it is I would not lock them into the coop. Leave the pop door open so they can go into their teeny tiny little run. Yes you should most certainly extend the run. Ideally you should start from scratch and try to build something of a more appropriate size for them. Have you considered converting a small shed into your coop?
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the advice, I will open the run now and allow them to use that also. I don't really want to keep them cooped up for too long although I have read it can take over week in some cases for the chickens to return to the coop at night on their own accord. I am hoping they are fast learners :)

I think I will look at building a new coop/run ASAP
 
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