i somehow acquired 2 runaways and i have questions. please help

[pollipazzi]

hello. i’ve just joined because i don’t have a clue about chickens and i now have 2 of them.
they belonged to a neighbor, who is not someone i see very often but friendly enough with. i was told they escaped soon after he got them. i am guessing they are 6 or 7 months old and have just started laying eggs.
for reasons i do not know, they picked me to live with.
they have been in my backyard for 2 months. they are here all day and have been sleeping in a different neighbor’s trees at night.
the neighbor who they belonged to originally, has tried to catch them for ages and could not. but they befriended me and follow me around so he said i could keep them. i call them thelma and louise.
(sorry this is so long)
we got a coop with a little run (we will make a bigger run very soon) and i kept them in there for about 6 days. louise seemed to be taking to it the best. she lays an egg almost every day in the nest box and goes right up at 6:30pm.
thelma had a harder time getting adjusted and was a bit panicked at first. now that she has freedom, she won’t lay in the nest box, but chose the tiniest flowerpot in my greenhouse (that’s a whole nother story) to lay her eggs.
today, while thelma was laying her flowerpot egg, at around 5:30, louise disappeared. we found her in the usual tree (down the street and very high up!). but without thelma! she is never without thelma.
thelma is safe and sound in the coop asleep.
so all of that to ask…
what is the best thing to do? i am sure she will be back tomorrow. neither of them will let me handle them, but they will eat out of my hand. and i can get her into the run with bribes. i just want them to be safe.
but should i lock them in again? for longer?
should i just get them in the run earlier since they will go up once they are in? everything i have read says lock them in the coop for a week or two. does that mean no run at all?
i have been trying to find the answers on my own but i couldn’t find anything specific to this situation. thanks in advance!

 

[PennelopeSpeaks]

Wow! Sounds like you have some adventurous chickens! I enjoyed reading your story! Chickens can take some time to get used to/learn to go into the coop at night. My rescue chicken Zinnia (similar story to yours) took a while to learn to go into the coop at night, but with some training eventually learned, although every once in awhile she will go roost somewhere random Since they are used to the trees, they will continue to go there until they are taught to into the coop. I recommend locking them up shortly before dusk for a week or two. That way they learn where to go, and will eventually just go there themselves!

Best of luck!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Glad you joined BYC! What an ordeal... Can you post some pics of your new coop? You said "little," run, so is it really to little that they can't be in the coop/run for an adjustment period? I think you do need to set up an adequate run space asap to get them more domesticated. Chicken's might want to go back to their Jungle fowl roots but really they're farm animals and need alot from you such as good feed, water, protection and roosting space. What do they eat, just foraging? There is a ton of info. on this site regarding how best to care for chickens, dont get over whelmed, it can be so fun and rewarding. Thelma and Louise are likely very good judges of character to have chosen you as their keeper.

 

[pollipazzi]

Wow! Sounds like you have some adventurous chickens! I enjoyed reading your story! Chickens can take some time to get used to/learn to go into the coop at night. My rescue chicken Zinnia (similar story to yours) took a while to learn to go into the coop at night, but with some training eventually learned, although every once in awhile she will go roost somewhere random Since they are used to the trees, they will continue to go there until they are taught to into the coop. I recommend locking them up shortly before dusk for a week or two. That way they learn where to go, and will eventually just go there themselves!

Best of luck!

thank you so much! i would have thought it would have been thelma that would be the one to escape, but i am learning fast that they are unpredictable and don’t often make sense. i will definitely try your suggestion. much appreciated!

 

[pollipazzi]

Glad you joined BYC! What an ordeal... Can you post some pics of your new coop? You said "little," run, so is it really to little that they can't be in the coop/run for an adjustment period? I think you do need to set up an adequate run space asap to get them more domesticated. Chicken's might want to go back to their Jungle fowl roots but really they're farm animals and need alot from you such as good feed, water, protection and roosting space. What do they eat, just foraging? There is a ton of info. on this site regarding how best to care for chickens, dont get over whelmed, it can be so fun and rewarding. Thelma and Louise are likely very good judges of character to have chosen you as their keeper.

aw, thanks! i will attach a photo, and hopefully you’ll be able to see what i plan to do. there is a space in my garden between two sheds that i put the coop in. i want to fence off the top and front with a proper door. it’s protected on 3 sides, which is why i picked that spot. we have foxes coming around sometimes. the in between sheds space is about 6feet wide by 9 feet long.
i know it’s not the best type of coop but this was all sort of thrown upon me and i did what i could as fast as i could. i did get the one advertised for 4 chickens instead of 2 because i learned they are smaller than they say.
i have been reading a lot and watching a lot of videos. i got them layered pellet feed that i have in one of those plastic feeders under the coop in the covered area, and a water one too. and i got a little thing that i attached in under the coop on the fencing that has grit mixed with oyster shell stuff. they also use the birdbath i have in the garden to drink and i give them treats of meal worms and sunflower seeds. i try giving them kitchen scraps but they couldn’t be bothered (i have a whole cabbage and a watermelon taking up fridge space that i bought just for them but they refused. lol!) they seem to prefer grass and bugs. they knock on my door and peek in the windows if i’m not out there with them.

i was thinking that after being cooped up with crazy thelma for 6 days, she just needed some alone time.
please excuse the mess. it’s a work in progress. oh! i have sand at the bottom of the run now and will probably get some wood chips to throw in there. and we will move the stones and fill the whole lot with the same.
thank you for your advice!

 

[RUNuts]

I agree. Train them to the coop for 2 weeks. Once they are accustomed to sleeping in the coop, it will be their bed.

Much safer from owls.

 

[pollipazzi]

I agree. Train them to the coop for 2 weeks. Once they are accustomed to sleeping in the coop, it will be their bed.

Much safer from owls.

thank you! do you mean keep them in the coop for that long with no run?

 

[RUNuts]

thank you! do you mean keep them in the coop for that long with no run?

Either way. Keep them in the coop for 2 weeks until it sticks that this is where they should sleep or put them to bed every night for 2 weeks.

Entice them into the coop in the evenings and lock the door. You just have to be consistent to program them to sleep in the coop.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Oh they are just lovely, they look purebred, what color eggs are they laying. I think you're going to do just fine! The pre-fab coops are great in a pinch, you'll want to think long term after you get into it and want to add a few more. That's right, I said it... I started with 5 and now I try so hard to not go over 15, LOL. Check out the Coops Section on here and click on individuals coops to get ideas and inspiration. That area looks great due to protection from wind. I bet if you built a base under to raise it up where they like to roost as high as possible (as you already know,) and if you built a covered run around it, you'd be good to go for quite a while. ENJOY!!

 

[pollipazzi]

Either way. Keep them in the coop for 2 weeks until it sticks that this is where they should sleep or put them to bed every night for 2 weeks.

Entice them into the coop in the evenings and lock the door. You just have to be consistent to program them to sleep in the coop.

Either way. Keep them in the coop for 2 weeks until it sticks that this is where they should sleep or put them to bed every night for 2 weeks.

Entice them into the coop in the evenings and lock the door. You just have to be consistent to program them to sleep in the coop.

i have been consistent with the times (which is more than i can say for the chickens ) i guess i didn’t lock em up long enough. i felt terrible. they are so much happier wandering around the garden. two weeks seems like a really long time i know it has to be done though. thanks for your help!