New to chickens!

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timluvr

timluvr

Hatching
Jun 9, 2015
7
0
7
Hi! I'm Bonnie and I welcomed 5 chickens into their (not quite finished) coop last week. I'm really not sure of how to handle them; they aren't quite grown, but they are almost there, and they were free-range till they arrived Thursday night. They hate me, since all I have done so far is catch them and stuff them into the coop at night, and now I have to clip their wings.

3 have eaten out of my hand, the other 2 won't come near me. I have a very helpful neighbor who alternates between laughing at me and giving me excellent advice, but I hate to bother him with my ignorance.

Glad to be here, and I look forward to learning from you all!
 
Nice to meet you Bonnie, Welcome to Backyard chickens. Do you mean they won't go into the coop at dusk, voluntarily? Shut them in the coop for a couple of days, so they realize the coop is their new HOME. After that they should return on their own and put themselves to bed. They really don't hate you, they just don't know you well enough yet. It takes time and a few treats to win their affection.

Older birds usually socialize as easily as baby chicks. They will get there.
 
Yes, they don't seem interested in going in at dusk. Well...some of them do, but it's different ones each night. So I'm thinking they don't get it. I'm tired of catching them, it makes them so upset. I will leave them in for a few days like you suggested. I thought the first night in the coop was all they would need. They've been huddling together under the coop (it's a raised deal) when the sun starts to set. Their food and water are in there, and I have another fountain in the run. So i suppose they will be fine inside. Also planning to purchase disgusting mealworms to tempt them. Gag.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! It usually takes birds a few days to consider the coop home... you might also double check that the ladder/board into the coop is easy for the birds to use/ not too steep (they are usually more willing to fly down than to go up). Also if the coop is pretty dark inside at dusk, they may not want to go in, adding a window or two or having a light on at that time helps. If they keep going under the coop, could you block that off until they start going into the coop?
 
That seems like a good idea. The coop has a lovely sliding window with a screen that we salvaged from our old storm door. But I can investigate a light. Also, the ramp is on our to-do list for fixing....I know it's not a really great one so we will be improving it shortly. I was forced to improvise because the chickens arrived before we were all the way ready. It's not steep, but it's not awesome either.
 
Oof, well thanks all for your help. The weather has been so oppressively hot that I worried the chickens would smother in their coop while learning that it was home. Even with the window open and vents all over, I thought it had to be hotter in there than the 90+ degrees outside. I let them out, and they flew over the fence. So I clipped their wings, and I still have to keep catching them to make them go to bed at night. But they seem to be getting a little more friendly, and they're getting easier to catch. We live on a pretty busy road, so flying over fences is a no-no. I'm going to keep at it till they behave like normal chickens, I'm just hoping they get a clue soon. My chicken-savvy neighbor will be watching them when I go on vacation in two weeks, and I want them to go easy on him.
 

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