Tough Chicken Introduction Situation

[sunmanchicken127]

Hello!

Thanks to this group, I was able to successfully raise 6 healthy hens and they are absolutely gorgeous. However, some things have changed and I am hoping someone with more experience can have a suggestion.

I bought my 6 hens almost exactly 4 months ago just before moving to a new apartment. I then spent about $1,000 building them the ideal coop with plenty of space. This was supposed to be their long term home. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay there and had to move back with my parents. I wasn't able to take that coop with me either. I just couldn't afford the cost of a moving truck and I don't have anyone who would help me lift it out of the backyard.

My dad has a small flock of 3 (they're all 3+ years old) and a pretty large run for them. He also has a coop which can fit the chickens, although it's not very comfortable for them. The main problem lies in the roosting (I'll get to it). Introducing my hens wasn't too hard - all 6 know their place and completely avoid the 3 original chickens. It took about a week for them to co-exist, but they're still sorting it out and don't roam together. I still hear squables here and there and mine are honestly terrified of his 3 older hens. The run area is big enough for them to get away though, but not big enough where they can completely avoid them the entire day.

Now to the roosting. There is one 4 foot bar which sits comfortably in the coop. My chickens have NOT wanted to sleep in the coop, and when they try to share that bar they get pecked and bullied off. There isn't much space for another roost, but I put one in tonight anyway (another 4 ft, so 8ft total now) because I don't have any other options. But it's just too close to the other roost. The hens are nearly touching each other when on the two separate roosts. It would probably be fine if they were all buddies - but they're not. And I don't want my hens dealing with this stress any longer. They always fear the 3 older hens, they don't get to roost, they don't even like going into the coop at night after 2 weeks of putting them in at bedtime with a slow integration process. We aren't doing well financially. I am unemployed and building that original coop was all I could spare. So I find myself in this situation with zero budget, seemingly stressed chickens, and I feel guilty every moment knowing they went from living a perfect life in their old home to trying to force them into this new area where they're hated and can't even roost for the night. I would also like to add they aren't laying eggs, but I don't know if that's from stress or because they're still pretty young.

Do I just get rid of them? Do I wait longer to hope they integrate and can all roost together (I have lived here about 2 weeks)? Is it as bad as I think? Really any thoughts will help me figure this out. I wish I just had money so I could build them something new and comfortable, that would be the easiest option. But I don't. They're only using the coop during the night to sleep (6'x4'). Thanks everyone.

(also, the 3 older hens breeds - white leghorn, sapphire gem, RIR. my chickens are 2 Ameraucanas, 2 RIRs, 2 Barred Rocks)

 

[Aunt Angus]

I had a similar situation. We had to live with my mom while we were waiting for our new house to close (it was delayed for months by COVID - we listed our previous house just days before the COVID shut down). I bought a resin shed off Craigslist and used it as a temporary coop. It worked like charm!
I would think a large dog house might work, too. Or build using recycled materials/pallets

We now use the shed for firewood storage.

 

[sunmanchicken127]

I had a similar situation. We had to live with my mom while we were waiting for our new house to close (it was delayed for months by COVID - we listed our previous house just days before the COVID shut down). I bought a resin shed off Craigslist and used it as a temporary coop. It worked like charm!
I would think a large dog house might work, too. Or build using recycled materials/pallets
View attachment 3252353
View attachment 3252352
We now use the shed for firewood storage.

Thank you! I was actually looking into used sheds like this, but I haven't seen any in the few months I've looked on any of the marketplaces online. I'm in a rural town in UT far from big cities so it's pretty hard to find good deals, or any deals. I will keep looking though. It would be perfect if I could even find a small one that takes up minimal run space and can just be for them to go roost for the night.

 

[FunClucks]

Looks to me like if you decrease the slant of the roost (build up the sides on the low part), you can increase the space between the two roosts. Short term, if you choose to keep your chickens, that might be a good thing to do. Also, I would double or triple the ventilation above the chickens heads (you can put louvers over it to keep out snow and rain, just make sure to cover with hardware cloth for predator protection). When winter comes, you may have trouble if everyone is not getting along by then, but I defer to those keepers who have actual winter experience (I get three days of snow and we all huddle at home until it goes away).

 

[rosemarythyme]

They will not roost if they cannot do so safely. The 9 total birds need about 9' of roost space. Expecting them to share a single 4' roost (or a 2nd roost closer than 14-16" from the first) would be like expecting you to share a twin sized bed with 2 random strangers.

Is there anything at all you can set up for them to roost on? Since money is tight, can you get free pallets or other unwanted materials to build an extension on the coop so you have space to add a roost? Any photos of the coop? At 4x6 I would think maybe you could rearrange the roost layout to perhaps to make space for them all, even though it's tight.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I had a similar situation. We had to live with my mom while we were waiting for our new house to close (it was delayed for months by COVID - we listed our previous house just days before the COVID shut down). I bought a resin shed off Craigslist and used it as a temporary coop. It worked like charm!
I would think a large dog house might work, too. Or build using recycled materials/pallets
View attachment 3252353
View attachment 3252352
We now use the shed for firewood storage.

And, yes, we made LOTS of ventilation by cutting holes and covering them with hardware cloth.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I was also thinking about removing both the roosts in the coop and adding a stepladder-type roost that goes WITH the slant. I don't know how well that would work though since it's pretty tight. Probably half of that space is a nesting box. At least a third. Then maybe a 1.5'x4' area is available to put roosts. These are just estimates, I can get a picture later. The other problem is that adding an extension cuts into the run area. From my knowledge, they have just about the right amount of space outside for a run. I wouldn't want to remove that area since that is where they spend most their time and they're only sleeping in the coop at night. I don't know if that's correct or not though. Do you know if it would be too hard to expand the height of the coop by removing the roof and adding extensions to the walls somehow? I think my dad was planning to change the roof out anyway, so maybe that's the best bet.

I agree that you wouldn't want to take away run space but as a general rule adding height doesn't add usable space for more birds. Even laddering roosts still requires that you keep them 14-16" apart horizontally (partially so they can't pick on each other, and partially so they don't poop bomb each other).

See if you can get some photos, and maybe we can help you figure out the best way to proceed. I for one, am a visual person, so I have a hard time visualizing with just a description.

 

[sunmanchicken127]

I agree that you wouldn't want to take away run space but as a general rule adding height doesn't add usable space for more birds. Even laddering roosts still requires that you keep them 14-16" apart horizontally (partially so they can't pick on each other, and partially so they don't poop bomb each other).

See if you can get some photos, and maybe we can help you figure out the best way to proceed. I for one, am a visual person, so I have a hard time visualizing with just a description.

I will grab a picture tomorrow! Thanks for the help so far

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

This is only a medium-security coop -- though it could be improved with hardware cloth instead of chicken wire, but it might be the sort of thing you could manage in this difficult situation:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/camp-cockerel.77789/

Note also the perch -- a sapling on concrete blocks. It's a handy, portable design for temporary use.

 

[SourRoses]

I know it's hard to rehome chickens you've raised, we've done it several times when life threw wrenches at us. I found that once you're able to get birds again it's like the fun starts fresh.
I'm saying this because you're in such a stressful sounding situation. It also sounds like it would be hard to advocate for your birds getting what they need as "guests".

You should give yourself a break. There are decent chicken people out there that would buy your nearly laying birds, and you could stow the money away to help pay for your next lot of chookies once you've got yourself situated in an environment you can control more.