Several questions

[JAR26]

Hello! First time chicken owner . Just got our 3 chickens 1 1/2 day ago (no eggs yet) and I have a few questions. I can already tell they have different temperaments. The smaller is less shy and seems to go up and down the coop no problem to eat. The second one seems to find it harder to come down the coop and jumps down...eats less but comes up and down more often. The biggest of the 3 doesnt come.downat all. She doesnt look ill and they dont seem to pick on eachother. When all in the coop, they hug together in one of the nesting box.

1. Should i be concerned with the shy one. I tried physically moving her down to the food but she just ran back in the coop. My husband said one of the 3 had a really hard time coming down the coop. Could she be scared to go down?

2. Is handling the chickens this soon or at all a bad idea? Should i leave them be until they de-stress from the ordeal of moving to a new home or should I get them use to us as soon as possible?

3. I've seen them on the roosting bar once and not for long...they seem to be sleeping in the nesting box so far. Is that normal at first? In the picture you can see the divider is higher than the bar. I removed it for now and will cut it to make sure the bars are higher.

4. Drinking. I have a bucket with the red cups. None of them have drank anything and i was starting to worry so i put in a tupperware with water and the two none shy girls just went crazy with it. Dunking their heads up to their eyeballs and sneezing haha (i didnt know chickens could sneeze). Im happy 2 are now drinking but still concerned with the shy one. Also...now that they seem to prefer dunking they heads...is all hope lost of having them drink in the cups or normal chicken water dish?

5. Is it nornal for them to eat their pine shaving? I saw the smallest eat the stray pieces in the grass.

Sorry for all the questions. Just want to make sure im not setting the tone for them not eating or drinking or sleeping to laying eggs all in the wrong way haha.

Thanks

Ps: accidently posted this in articles first sorry. Trying to delete it now

 

[CindyinSD]

They look pretty young. They’ll probably get used to their new place. I’d want to get some poultry netting (if you’re not gonna free range) and give them an extended space to forage and run around. Electric poultry netting will keep ground based predators out and can be energized with a solar charger. Plus you haven’t committed yourself to a permanent run. You can move it around to prevent your pretty grass from being ruined. (Doesn’t work in the snow, of course.)

I wouldn’t force handling. If you sit with them long enough (and maybe offer treats) they’ll probably come up to you at some point and jump up onto your knees to look at you. Get a chair, though. I always squat because I forget to bring one and it HURTS getting back up. (But I’m old.)

What’s the divider for? I think I’d just toss it. If it’s to section off a nest box, I’d just put in a plastic container (around 12” x 12”). A milk crate with some of the front cut out (a hand-held jig saw works) makes a good nest box. Leave a lip to hold in the nesting materials & eggs. They shouldn’t roost in the nest box. You can cover it when it’s not their (or your) preferred laying time. TBH I don’t make a big deal of it. Mine don’t seem to poop in the nest boxes.

If you can dunk their beaks into the cups you may get them to drink from them. Ducks and geese dunk their heads. I’ve never seen my chickens do that. Were your girls living with waterfowl, maybe? I used to use horizontal nipples, but my bucket heater broke and I gave them a bucket of water. It was so easy and they really liked it so I just went with that. If you don’t have the space I’ll bet you can make the cups work.

Sometimes they will eat shavings. It’s not the best and can harm them in excess, but realistically they’re gonna eat a few. It’s what they do. You could get spoiled hay instead... that way they’ll at least be eating something edible.

Best of luck with your girls!

 

[Perris]

give them a few days to settle in; they'll work it out. At the moment it's all new and different, and some take that better than others. Try to be a calming influence.

 

[Cryss]

Use your finger to fill up the water cups all the way full. Once they find the water and drink it they will keep going back and it will automatically refill. They just need it filled for them the first time so they know what it is.

Your coop is small. The distance from the pop door to the fenced wall at the bottom is very short. To your smallest bird it is enough room to hop down. To your largest bird it's just too close for comfort. I use one similar for emergencies. My rooster really has a hard time with it. Hopefully he won't need to be in it too much longer.

Inside your coop three birds need 12 square feet of space plus the separate nesting area. That's according to the minimum requirements of 4sqft per bird. Outside in the run each bird requires a minimum of 10sqft/bird so your girls need a 30sqft run. Of course more room is better. And have you heard of chicken math? Basically it means you will want more chickens so you will want an even bigger coop. Trust me. Been there, done that, invented the t-shirt!! Too small of an area causes stress and fighting sometimes with deadly consequences.


As long as you are providing grit (not oyster shell) there is no problem with them nibbling a bit of shavings. It's pretty normal. Grit is also eaten because it is what actually "chews" their food especially things like hard seeds and such. Oyster shell should not be offered until they begin laying eggs and should not be used as a substitute for grit. Oyster shell dissolves quickly compared to grit which is basically small stones.

Good luck! Looking forward to seeing your progress and these cute girlies grow!

 

[JAR26]

Thanks everyone! The shy one came down once this morning but then rushed back upstairs haha.

 

[JAR26]

Use your finger to fill up the water cups all the way full. Once they find the water and drink it they will keep going back and it will automatically refill. They just need it filled for them the first time so they know what it is.

Your coop is small. The distance from the pop door to the fenced wall at the bottom is very short. To your smallest bird it is enough room to hop down. To your largest bird it's just too close for comfort. I use one similar for emergencies. My rooster really has a hard time with it. Hopefully he won't need to be in it too much longer.

Inside your coop three birds need 12 square feet of space plus the separate nesting area. That's according to the minimum requirements of 4sqft per bird. Outside in the run each bird requires a minimum of 10sqft/bird so your girls need a 30sqft run. Of course more room is better. And have you heard of chicken math? Basically it means you will want more chickens so you will want an even bigger coop. Trust me. Been there, done that, invented the t-shirt!! Too small of an area causes stress and fighting sometimes with deadly consequences.


As long as you are providing grit (not oyster shell) there is no problem with them nibbling a bit of shavings. It's pretty normal. Grit is also eaten because it is what actually "chews" their food especially things like hard seeds and such. Oyster shell should not be offered until they begin laying eggs and should not be used as a substitute for grit. Oyster shell dissolves quickly compared to grit which is basically small stones.

Good luck! Looking forward to seeing your progress and these cute girlies grow!

Do you mix the grit with their food or just leave a little on the ground for them....is their a prefered amount?

 

[DobieLover]

Do you mix the grit with their food or just leave a little on the ground for them....is their a prefered amount?

You provide grit in a separate dish and feed it free choice.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello.
May I ask where you got these birds from and how old they are? They are not laying so they either haven't reached POL yet, are done laying or are shut down from laying due to stress from the move. You might want to add a bit of electrolytes to their water for a couple of days to help them deal with the stress.
I would remove that ramp from the coop. It is just taking up room.
I used one of those tiny little coops to integrate three pullets into my flock. While they were using it, I had a 60 sq foot run attached to it that they could access and I strongly advise you do the same. You can use the moveable poultry netting with solar charger that @CindyinSD mentioned or build something more permanent. But leaving them in such extremely confined quarters is going to cause behavioral and health issues.
It is going to take time for them to figure out their new surroundings so allow them to do it. The only exception I will make to that is ensuring that all are eating and drinking. So if your shy one has not yet, you need to make sure she does. I would assume that the "shy" one is actually the lowest ranking girl in there and is staying away from the others. Again, they have no where near the amount of space they need and that must be addressed immediately.
You can manage with that coop until winter comes (as long as you let them out of that tiny space) and then all bets are off. They need more space. You need to have a run that can be winterized for them to stay in during long cold winter days or a much larger coop. I'd get started now on that. You can also convert an old shed into a coop.
Good luck.

 

[Henriettamom919]

Thanks everyone! The shy one came down once this morning but then rushed back upstairs haha.

Get a blanket and some oats or chopped grapes, blueberries or mealworms and just sit in front of their open space area with the door open. Offer a little treat when they come near you. In a couple of weeks you will have them going everywhere you go!

I agree that your coop is too small. We also started out with three older pullets when we first began the craziness that is chicken fun and like you I bought, what seemed like, an all inclusive prefab coop. It's adorable and it was great when they were younger but around six/seven months old they began roosting on the roof at night. At first I thought they were just enjoying the nice weather but it was both the size and (totally impractical) design that is the hallmark of prefab. The upside is that since we needed a bigger coop anyway I had the perfect excuse to buy four chicks last month! Now the littles use the prefab coop in our fenced garden and its like chicken school until they graduate out with my big girls!

That's chicken math! You start with three and somehow it becomes five and then seven...You'll be a PhD in it in no time!

Your girls are gorgeous and you'll be in love before you know it!

 

[Cryss]

Do you mix the grit with their food or just leave a little on the ground for them....is their a prefered amount?

You provide grit in a separate dish and feed it free choice.

There's your answer. dont mix it in their food.

Check this thread out about chicken math. Informative and hilarious! This link might take you to the last page but just go back to the beginning, good thread.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-math.1312138/page-10#post-21414409