Our first two chickens!...Please help, thanks!

[Terry71]

Hello there. First, I would like to say thanks for having us to your wonderful site. Myself, my wife and our three year old daughter just purchased two youg chickens last week. The girl said they were around four weeks old. I have had them in an enclosed area for the first week but want to move them to their new coop. I want to start letting them roam our property. Is there anything special I should do before hand? Will they fly away? We have fifteen acres here. Also, do I need to have a heater in their new coop or would 100 watt light directly over them be enough? Sorry to be so virgin here, but I would just like to do the right thing for our new family members.

Thank-you,

Terry

 

[mark3208]

I dont know how cold it gets there,but we have fairly cold winters here,and a 100 watt bulb ,in a wind proof shelter should be fine ,my coops arent heated. As for leting them roam your property, if you want to keep chickens alive,they must be kept in a predator proof enclosure. It is that simple. dogs,raccoons,possoms,foxes,owls coyotes,bears,you name it,it is out to eat your chickens.

 

[beakkeeper]

Hi Terry!

First of all, congrats on getting chickens!

I don't get mine till next spring! un I think that your chooks will by OK with that amt. of heat, but you might want to put a thermometer in there. Experiment with different wattages, how high the light is from the floor of the coop, etc. Your birdies might need some light in there too. To teach them that their coop is their new home, lock them in there for a night, then let them out, and feed them in there the next morning. Do this until they get the picture.

Best of luck!