In this post I have not touched on settling in your first hens. I will try and do a whole post on this in the near future, but for now here are some of my tips for settling in birds for the fist time! When you get your first hens, whether you have collected them from a breeder, got them at a poultry show, had them given to you by a friend or bought them from a livestock auction, when they arrive at their new home, you should leave them in their carry crate, or whatever you used, even just the car boot, until dusk. This gives them time to relax after the journey, and become drowsy with the fading light. Then, under the cover of darkness, gently pick them up and place them in their new house. If you plan to free range your birds over a large area, or somewhere there are bushes or even flower beds, then setting up a temporary pen with wire netting and bamboo canes around the house, (if the coop doesn't have an attached run). this means that when you let them out after their first night in a new coop, they can scratch around without wandering too far and getting lost, before being 'foxed'. New chickens do not always put themselves to bed the first few nights so you may get the job of going out with a torch and placing them in the house. After a few nights they will get the idea and you can remove the chicken wire fence, or open the run door! If you do make a temporary run, you'll never have the experience of hunting in your shrubs and behind the geraniums for a bewildered chicken who has gone adventuring and got lost. Not the best experience for the first time keeper! | When getting new hens, it is a must to get more than one hen at a time. This means that rather than being alone the newby has a comanion, making it much less stressful for the birds, it also helps to prevent bullying, there is not just one new hen being picked on. Organisations like the BHWT (british hen welfare trust) usually insist on you getting at least three new birds at a time, which gives an idea of the norm, but two is perfectly fine.
| Squabble Police! When new chickens join the flock, you want everything to go smoothly. So the squabble police are here to help! When mixing new chickens, it is helpful to provide more than one feeder and waterer, as arguments over the bare neccesities in life are ferocious! |