New chicken mama questions

[Witchychickens]

Now that my girls are in their coop outdoors, I have some questions.

Do you give your chickens water overnight in the coop? I’d prefer not to put the waterer in the coop if I can avoid it.

Can I train them to the coop at night any other way than locking them in for days? I don’t love that idea.

What does dusk really mean? When I go out around 7:30, they’re still up and hard to wrangle. Sunset tonight is around 8, I figured 7:30 would be good but it seems they’re “not sleepy yet” like most kids Tonight I used a huddle box to try to block them from escaping the coop as I got each in one by one. I tried a herding stick but only one went in with that method. I feel bad because I don’t want to frighten them. Will they get used to the coop being their place if I put them in every night for a few weeks?

When did you start to feed them treats? What are your favorite treats to feed your flock?

Do I *need* a pop door? We didn’t get one cut in before we had to move them out. They’re using the human door just fine and I don’t mind opening the human door to let them in and out, although I suppose it gives them a larger area to escape from right now.

Ideas on safeguarding a “pasturing area”? We have a fenced in yard and then a secondary fence that would allow them to pasture behind their coop. I was thinking bird netting, and no dig predator fencing at the base of my fence to ensure nothing can dig under it to get them. They would only pasture when I am outdoors with them or watching. We do have a dog (who cannot access that part of the yard) and cats who go outside occasionally but they wouldn’t be able to dig or crawl under and they would get caught in the bird netting if they did try to jump the 6 foot privacy fence (we are set atop a hill, they’d have a hard time jumping it from the ground for sure).

Oyster shell, I assume they don’t need this until they lay?

Any input and thoughts welcome.

 

[KyCoop]

Wow ok that's a lot to un pack.
No they don't need water or food at night. They will be sleeping.

Yes you need to lock them in their coop minimum 5 days. It's called coop training. It let's them learn the coop is home the coop is safe.

Dusk is almost too dark to see. They won't go in if they see even a little sliver of sun. Much like children

I gave mine treats at 10wks or so. But make sure you have Chick grit available. I give mine scratch and meal worms. But just a little. It's like candy to them.

They don't need a pop door but you don't want such a huge opening that would invite a hawk to try and fly in.

You can attach floppy deer net fencing to the top of your privacy fence. This will make them think the fence is not a solid stable structure to land on. It's unsightly but did you assay you have a leghorn? Yeah those things are little helicopters, 7ft-8ft minimum to keep them in.

They don't need oyster shell until they lay.

Shew- anything else?

 

[Witchychickens]

Wow ok that's a lot to un pack.
No they don't need water or food at night. They will be sleeping.

Yes you need to lock them in their coop minimum 5 days. It's called coop training. It let's them learn the coop is home the coop is safe.

Dusk is almost too dark to see. They won't go in if they see even a little sliver of sun. Much like children

I gave mine treats at 10wks or so. But make sure you have Chick grit available. I give mine scratch and meal worms. But just a little. It's like candy to them.

They don't need a pop door but you don't want such a huge opening that would invite a hawk to try and fly in.

You can attach floppy deer net fencing to the top of your privacy fence. This will make them think the fence is not a solid stable structure to land on. It's unsightly but did you assay you have a leghorn? Yeah those things are little helicopters, 7ft-8ft minimum to keep them in.

They don't need oyster shell until they lay.

Shew- anything else?

Hahaha i feel like I should pay you at this point.

That leghorn… that FREAKING LEGHORN. she flew up to the rafter of the coop last night to try to get to my husband at the back window (she loves him… ). She’s going to be a turd. She’s lucky she has that floppy beret looking comb and I love her. Her name is Coco. She’s extra. I know she can scale our fence for sure. I was thinking of quite literally covering the entire pasture area (it’s not super huge) with netting. Good birdies in, bad birdies out.

The coop door is covered by the run, which is predator proof.

They’ve had chick grit regularly for awhile and I swear they love it.

 

[KyCoop]

That leghorn will be glued to your husband. My 2 were glued to mine. We loved them because they were turds
They are not for everyone. They force you to learn and learn fast about chicken keeping.
Yeah they will eat a lot of grit at first. The grit is not water souable so that will slow way down once they get their crop full with what they need.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Wow ok that's a lot to un pack.
No they don't need water or food at night. They will be sleeping.

Yes you need to lock them in their coop minimum 5 days. It's called coop training. It let's them learn the coop is home the coop is safe.

Dusk is almost too dark to see. They won't go in if they see even a little sliver of sun. Much like children

I gave mine treats at 10wks or so. But make sure you have Chick grit available. I give mine scratch and meal worms. But just a little. It's like candy to them.

They don't need a pop door but you don't want such a huge opening that would invite a hawk to try and fly in.

You can attach floppy deer net fencing to the top of your privacy fence. This will make them think the fence is not a solid stable structure to land on. It's unsightly but did you assay you have a leghorn? Yeah those things are little helicopters, 7ft-8ft minimum to keep them in.

They don't need oyster shell until they lay.

Shew- anything else?

I agree with everything you stated....mostly. You don't NEED to coop train by locking them in for 5 days minimum. I started with 4 birds/1 coop, increased gradually and now sit at 30 birds, 4 separate coops and have never locked any of mine down to home them to their coop.
I can agree that it may be easier, and I have suggested it in posts. But it's just a suggestion/option based on it don't NEED to be done in my experience.

 

[realsis]

Hi. I only give water in the coop at night if my day has been 90 degrees or over and know the coop will be warm into the evenings. I live in one of the hottest areas 110_115 a normal summer. The coop and run is in the shade of three trees and the run is fitted with a misting system. Chickens cool from feet up so they like cool moist dirt. I also supplement with electrolytes in the water and cool fruit on occasion. I have a closed coop and covered run with a auto door because I have hawks from about, raccoons that pushed in my manual door and got my birds, possum, skunks, and that's all I've seen in my back yard. So I try to keep it tight at night. I trained my girls with a green broken broom handle like to herd them into the house.i never hit or strike I gently guide them into their house at night. I've done this with all my flocks and they see the stick and know to go to bed. I gently guide them. After a bit they just know by looking time for bed. Hope this helps a bit this is what has worked for me. Find what fits you best or give it a try. I've learned over the years. Hope this helps you out somehow. Most importantly have fun and enjoy your birds!♡

 

[Witchychickens]

Thanks everyone, they definitely used the roost last night because the poop board has poop!

I’m going to keep trying to herd them in at night for a bit and see if it clicks.

 

[wrathsfarm]

You didn't say how old they are, or I missed it. You could sprinkle a little scratch in coop before bed to coax them in. They will soon associate whatever cup or dish your bringing scratch in, and follow you in. My 5 week olds I've had to coax in a little earlier to their brooder coop to avoid the roost rumble that the bigs have at dusk. Their not fully integrated yet, the big girls are more welcoming, but my roo is not so much. It's taking a bit, having to over see him during integration.

Best of luck ..

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

1. I do give my chickens water in the coop at night in case they need a drink. I would recommend putting the water in the coop overnight.

2. Well, they will probably learn eventually that they coop is home, after a few weeks of catching them and putting them inside. But keeping them in for a few days is the easiest and fastest way - You would only have to keep them inside for 2-3 days.

3. Dusk is usually when the sun is going down. Predators start coming out after the sun goes down and disappears from the sky, so the chickens should be put in the coop by that time.

4. I start feeding my chickens treats at around 3 - 4 weeks of age. My chickens love scratch grains , sunflower seeds, oatmeal, table scraps, and worms best.

5. All my coops have human doors and the chickens prefer going out those doors than the pop doors. Besides, my Buff Orpingtons and Light Brahmas get stuck in the doors... So you don't *need* a pop up door, human doors will work just fine.

6. Bird netting can be a pain. If you are in an area where there is a lot of wind and/or snow, it will shred it. It also costs a lot of money to replace every time a wind storm comes.

7. You should start introducing oyster shell into their diet at around 3 1/2 months of age. Right before they should start laying. I give oyster shells to my flock 3 times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

 

[WaterfowlsPoultry]

If you have a really protective but friendly rooster. They practically do the job for you. They will alert the hens to come to the coop once they see it turns dusk. But the only issue about it is that a rooster will most likely do it too early so you will sometimes have all your chickens in the coop at like 5 PM (Sometimes)