Solitary chicken - need advice

[emmalou]

Yesterday we picked up our chickens for the first time. We are very excited however has been marred by our dear cat going misisng last week so am very stressed atm.

Anyway, the temperatures here are 30+ at the moment, so keeping them in their hous during the day is not an option. I was not sure how I can get them in tonight. Last night we shut them in at around 9.30pm and took half an hour to catch them and both us and them were quite stressed at the end! I realise this is normal but am pretty confident we will have the same tonight. We only collected them at 4.30pm yesterday so had to let them loose in the run because of the heat, although there is plenty of shade in the run.

What do you think? The all spent their first night on the same perch near the window, and think this is wherebthey remained all night. They are a little hesitant to come out this morning but figure this may be a good thing as they feel safe. No eggs

[Beantree]

I wouldn't expect eggs for a few weeks Emmalou. Assuming they are old enough, the stress of the move combined with the heat you are having will put them off laying. Most important is to ensure they have plenty of cool water. They can drink up to a litre each a day.

 

They should find their own way into the coop now, but it is important they have good ventilation and the coop is kept cool during the day. You may need to put insulation on the roof if it is getting sunshine on it and perhaps open the door.

[emmalou]

Thank you. It is nice and cool for sure as after 11am it is shaded. Rain due this evening so hoping they will use their house easier but not so sure at all. Should I just leave them to their own devices overnight tonight? If they donnt go in on their own accord should I leave them in the secure coop? Surely they will go in eventually?

[mullethunter]

If they are safe in their run, I would leave them until they're asleep. Hopefully this will be in their house, but if not, you should be able to then put them into the house. They'll get the hang of it in a day or two.

[emmalou]

I think they are a little wary of us still atm and it hard to get too close to them. We have had to round them up and carry them in the past two nights and has been a little traumatic on both sides which we wanted to try and avoid. There has to come a time at night when we need to sleep and they need to be safe in their house. Luckily hubbie is off this week. If he wasn't I wouldn't of been able to get them in. I hope they are OK by the time he returns to work as he is on shifts and cannot be rounding chickens up after 9pm. Fingers crossed. They know to go into their house as they go back in in the mornings to nest for a short time, so they know to use the steps.

[kopperdrake]

Chickens will fall asleep at or just after dusk, if they're not in the place you'd like them to be, you'll find them somewhere, asleep. But it has to be after sun-down. 9pm is too early at the moment, we're closing our coop doors around 10pm - just the thought of running after them to force them in before they decide to go to bed makes me ache If they're safe in their run, and you can wait until after sundown, once they're asleep, then you should be able to, quite easily, walk up to them, pick them up, and place them into the coop where you want them to be. In a few days they should get the message, and make their own way to the coop at sundown (or a little after).

[emmalou]

Hubbie was thinking of making a temporary panel so that tonight we can usher them into a smaller section and then they are restricted to one area and may have no choice but to go upstairs. Does that sound an option? I think atm it is too stressful for them when it comes to bedtime.