Not a good first day - could use some advice

[wrldlygrrl]

And one more thing, they just discovered the roosts...and they are 18 weeks old!

 

[azmotogirl]

We had one pullet that was just way too loud for us to keep so we traded her to a friends for another hen. This hen was the same way..... twice on the roof in the first week. FYI.... the garden hose is a big help to scare them back down!!! She now comes running with the other hens when I go out to check on them..... it just takes time. Try taking a chair and a book out and just sit in the run area and read. They will get used to you being around. Try to move slowly around them for awhile. Mine still startle if I make quick moves...... just the "nature of the beast".

Just remember..... take things slow and easy and they will get used to you. Give it time.

 

[Sandy16]

I know that it was a frustrating day for you, but I have to admit that you gave me a laugh this morning! Sometimes our girls don't want to go back into their run after free ranging and have discovered that if they run around a big tree, I can't herd them in by myself. I swear they do it on purpose! Every time this happens I just think how silly I must look following 6 hens around the big tree. Stupid human tricks.

Here are some of our girls favorite treats that you might want to try -
BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds)
bananas
yogurt
blueberries
pancakes
spinach
watermelon

Good Luck!!

PS - we got our girls at 6-8 weeks, so we got to bond with them when they were very young, but I am sure that once your flock has settled into the change of environment, all will be well. Once they realize that you are the "food lady", they will run to you!!

 

[zengrrl]

I lost my fave chicken last night and your story did make me smile. Time young grasshopper, all in time. And I have the same husband, he sure was not feelig the chicken vibe at all, thinks I've gone off the deep end, which may be true. But last night after Ugg had passed away, he was the one who said we should bury her, went into the mosquito infested backlot and dug a hole for her. Made sure to put rocks on top of her grave so nothing could dig her up, and has the bazillion mosquito bites as his thanks. You'll need to leave them in the coop for a few days, so they get that its where they roost. It'll get better from here I promise!

 

[dsqard]

I have not completely read all of the responses, so if this has been said before, I apologize. I would definitely keep them in their run for a few weeks until they know where "home" is and start associating you with food before letting them free range. I had a really hard time with getting my pullets back into their run when I first started letting them out. The daily routine was to let them out and then chase them around with a fishing net. Much entertainment for DH but not so much fun for me. Of course if it had been the other way around, I would have been laughing hysterically at him

Anyway, now that they know what the treat bucket is and what it has in it, they all follow me back to their pen when it is treat time like a bunch of puppies. Much less stress! The pullets also got much friendlier once they started laying. They are not lap chickens to be sure but they don't run away from me like I am an axe murderer either.

It will just take time. Remember, anything new will be scary to them so just walk slowly around them and let them get settled in. They will come around!

 

[confusedturtle]

Im sorry you had such a bad first day

Mine were not so happy with me at first either. Right now they are still young (4 wks) and we are building the coop so they sleep in the garage at night in a xlarge pet crate and are in an equally sized crate outside all day long. When I need to move them or feed/water them they would all run away and hide from me, I was sad because when we bought them the adult hens & rooster followed the guy around like he was made of corn and he could pick them up and pet them and everything. I tried giving them treats but they had no interest until 2 days ago. My son didnt eat all of his corn on the cob so I gave it to the girls, they loved it! I have offered it 2 times since and now when I go to the crate they start peeping and get excited, its sweet. Just give them some treats they will come around for ya, and hopefully they will stay off the roof

 

[bobbi-j]

I agree with dsqard - if you can, keep them in the run for several days. If you don't have a run yet, can you keep them in the coop for a few days or a week? It will help them know that that's where they belong. They will put themselves in at night, all you should have to do is go close the door. While they're confined, let them get used to you. Bring them treats, sit quietly in the coop or run, or just outside of the run so they're used to you being around. (I'm not sure what you have for a coop - mine is an 8'x12' shed that I can go into) Mine aren't pets by any means, but they still come running from all over when they see me coming because when they were in the coop for the winter, I'd bring them treats. I don't bring them goodies everytime I go out there, but they never know, so they have to come check it out. As I stated earliler, they put themselves in at night. Sometimes, if I'm going to be gone till late, I'll put them in early, but all I have to do is toss some goodies into the run and when they go in to eat, I shut the door. All this to say, given time your chickens will get used to you and you won't have to have a "chicken rodeo" to catch them and put them up at night.

 

[confusedturtle]

Zengrrl: I just saw your post it wasn't there when I responded earlier

I am so sorry for your loss though. That was very sweet of hubby to do that (((hugs))) to you both

 

[happymom99]

Quote:
I'm so sorry for the loss of your chicken.

Very sweet of your husband. It sounds like your husband and my husband were definitely cut from the same cloth.

 

[happymom99]

Thank you so much, everyone, for your suggestions and tips. It is very encouraging.

As for keeping them in the coop, it is only a 4x5 coop so they can't stay in there all day. I am leaving them in their fenced area though which is probably about 400 sq feet. I gave them a banana this morning and this afternoon I got them some scratch, which they LOVE. They do seem to be getting more comfortable but, sadly, there was more drama....

My dog got into their fenced area today. I never imagined she could get in there, but she did. She did not hurt anyone but she terrified them. It is 10:00 here and my husband is still working on reinforcing the bottom of the area so they can't get in. Also...

The birds have figured out how to get onto the top of the coop and they can get get into my neighbor's yards from there so I had to clip all their wings. I really didn't want to do that in case a cat or something were to get into their area but they wouldn't stop jumping up there and I was afraid I was going to lose one. This weekend my husband will be building an enclosed run. In the meantime, I'm staying close to home and keeping an eye on them. A neighborhood cat was totally eyeballing them from a roof yesterday. I will feel much better when they have their run and when they are bigger. Once they're full-grown will they be able to defend themselves from a cat?

Tomorrow we will kiss up to them some more with scratch and other treats. We are also just going to picnic and play board games or something out there.

Thank you again, everyone. I really appreciate it.

CJ