PLEASE HELP I DON"T KNOW WHAT TO DO

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black_cat

♥♥Lover of Leghorns♥♥
May 21, 2020
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Connecticut
I find myself in a VERY bad situation here. We decided to start with adult hens and a coop from a local farm. I didn't want to undermine the farm people, so I let them set it up. Mistake. They put nothing on the floor of the run, which was covered in hardware cloth. Worried that they would hurt their feet/beaks trying to get to what was under it, I tried to put some bedding in. Mulchy stuff. One of the hens escaped. It was TERRIFIED. They're all terrified and scruffy looking, missing feathers and such. I only managed to catch the hen because my friend who had owned chickens before was there to help. The farm people put everything in in the worst way possible, so we can't see if the feeder or water is running low. the only way to get eggs is through the main door of the coop. The hens are terrified of everyone and if one escaped I don't know what I'd do, I'd feel terrible. Nobody else in the household has ever held a chicken before and the ones that I've handled are treat trained (will come running for treats and are so motivated by them) and not actually afraid, just grumpy about being picked up. What should I do? There is no way to seal off the coop or run for cleaning and put them in the other, and there is no outdoor egg collection hatch. I feel like a complete failure and need advice. I have 3 RIRs and 1 leghorn.
 
Take a breath. Any time they are moved, chickens are going to be a little freaked out, so for a few days they are going to seem terrified of everything. If you can post some pictures of the way it's set up it's going to be easier for us to give you some advice - which you should understand is just a collection of opinions based on our own individual experience, so what works for one person may not work the same for another person. Read as much as you can and make the decisions that seem best suited to your situation, and give yourself the opportunity to change your mind, as often as necessary, until you've got things set up in a way that makes sense for you and your birds. Welcome to chicken world and BYC! :)
 
Oh you're on the east coast, so yes, it's after 9 there, and dark - did the ladies go into their coop for the night? If so, assuming there is a door they use to go in and out, go out and close it up so they are nice and secure, and use this opportunity or the one in the morning before you open that door back up to move food and water to a place that makes more sense to you.
 
It will be okay! I think the first thing to work on is to treat train the chickens, which will help them be less scared around humans and also minimize the amount of chasing you'll need to do. Mealworms are a big favorite.

Folks on the forums can help you with your coop setup, hopefully you can make some simple modifications to the existing coop.

Best of luck! Things will get easier as the chickens adjust to their new home.
 
If for some reason they didn't go in, try to enlist another person, go into the run, close the gate behind you, and then slowly and calmly try to gather each up and put inside for the night. Chickens are "night blind" - they can not see very well in the dark, so it's easier to capture them. I'm not going to say they will be calm, because they probably won't, but if you remain calm and just speak softly to them, it will help.
 
Oh you're on the east coast, so yes, it's after 9 there, and dark - did the ladies go into their coop for the night? If so, assuming there is a door they use to go in and out, go out and close it up so they are nice and secure, and use this opportunity or the one in the morning before you open that door back up to move food and water to a place that makes more sense to you.
They did go in. There is not a door that I can close that goes from the run into the coop, just a hole that I can't actually close. I'm actually kind of angry at the chicken people right now, the coop has different dimensions than were listed on the website, (it's bigger so it's ok but still) the coop there HAS A DOOR TO CLOSE between the coop and the run. The food and water are in the coop-right where I can't see them without opening another door. I want to move them into the run so that I can see when they need a refill.
 
It's not a walk in setup-not my choice, I was overruled. We also didn't start with chicks, again because I was overruled. I wish I had stepped in with the chicken people and told them that I had a plan, but what's done is done. We got the dustbath bin (full of good dry dustbath stuff) and some of the mulch litter I was going to use.
 
They did go in. There is not a door that I can close that goes from the run into the coop, just a hole that I can't actually close. I'm actually kind of angry at the chicken people right now, the coop has different dimensions than were listed on the website, (it's bigger so it's ok but still) the coop there HAS A DOOR TO CLOSE between the coop and the run. The food and water are in the coop-right where I can't see them without opening another door. I want to move them into the run so that I can see when they need a refill.
Okay, so you need to get in touch with them right away and tell them they forgot the door on the coop - especially if it was advertised that way when you bought it. My recommendation would be to move the water outside into the run for sure, so it doesn't make a mess inside the coop, and put the feeder in a garage/shed/mud room/somewhere mice are excluded for the night - I realize that may not be a possibility for tonight, just saying for future, I put my feed away every night to try and limit the number of rodents I attract with it, whether you keep it inside the coop or in the run - mine is in the runs, but whichever you opt for should be fine. But you have to have the door on the coop. If some predator breaches the run, nothing stops it from getting into the coop.
 

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