|
How do I Acclimate my Chickens to a New Coop? What is the number one thing to do when introducing chickens to a new coop? Keep them in the new coop for about 3 days and/or up to 3 weeks. Give it at least 3 days before you introduce them to their run. Eventually they will start to venture in the new coop… How to Acclimate Chicken to a New Coop! Acclimate: Verb; Become accustomed to a new climate or to new conditions. Many questions come to mind. What is the number one thing to do when introducing chickens to a new coop? Keep them in the new coop for about 3 days and/or up to 3 weeks. Give it at least 3 days before you introduce them to their run. Eventually they will start to venture in the new coop. Chickens, like many other pet-type animals, can remember the location of their food and water. Unlike cats and dogs, they won't venture down the street. Almost always, they will stay in range of their food and water. In order for them to easily stay in their coop for three days or as long as needed, you will want to have these items in the coop:
Make sure they are warm, comfortable, and able for them to find food dish and water. It may take a couple days for them to really start roaming for them to adjust to their new surroundings. I'll let you in on a little secret, chickens are not picky!!! It's especially important to hold off purchasing chickens until your new chicken coop has arrived: Plan a few days ahead if possible, allowing yourself plenty of time to get organized. It should take you around an hour and a half to build your Frame bow Chicken Coop, allow a little longer for our larger units with extension runs.
Prepare the inside of the chicken house by adding a sprinkling of shavings to the sliding floor and bed up the nesting boxes and don't forget to close the pop-hole. Place feed and water inside the chicken house ready for the new arrivals. Barn reared hens may be unused to perching, don't worry about this in the early days; the main thing is to get your hens settled in to their new chicken house after their journey in the travel box. Our chicken house perch arrangement is such that you also have a little floor area for placing a small feeder and drinker and room for the chickens to move around so they can stretch their legs. Remember hens need access to fresh clean drinking water at all times, you will be amazed how much they drink.
The new chickens will be a little stressed on arrival. Try and keep them as quiet as possible when lifting them out of the travel box. The best way to hold a chicken is to put your hand under its body with the chicken's head facing you to avoid the chicken from messing on you. Hold the wings down with the other hand to prevent the chicken from flapping about. Bob the chickens quietly into their new chicken house, have a quick glance to ensure they have travelled well and have no major problems or knocks. Close the hen house door and leave them to settle in for around eighteen hours and best to plan the collection of your new chickens in the afternoon if possible so your new birds can be locked up at tea time and left overnight to settle and let out into the chicken run the following morning to familiarize themselves with their new coop.
When letting the chickens out the morning after, it’s always a good idea to prepare your feeder and drinker and place these in the chicken run, placing the feeder in the sheltered area of the run, underneath the chicken house in order to keep the chicken feed dry. Walk out of the run or close the run lid and then you can release your chickens using the pull cord on your Frame bow Chicken Coop. Stand back and wait quietly for your new brood to emerge and explore their new surroundings. |
