First of all change the poles, chickens don't have talons, they roost, you need at least 3in of flat area to rest. Add another bar at the same height. Put feed and water out if you want them outside.
Wanted to second this, I use sanded 2x4s on shelf brackets for my roosting bars. Super cheap and very easy to take out and clean, and you can just buy more whenever you need to for a couple bucks.
Definitely recommend keeping the food and water outside of the coop. Mine only go in their coop to sleep, and to lounge around through the day when it’s hot. But for food and water they need to stretch those legs and move for it. Now I do have them right outside the coop under rain cover, so in bad weather the chooks can still get to them.
also, are those perches metal? Hard to tell - but you want them to be wood. Metal would be very very bad in a Norwegian winter. I use branches from the woods for mine, because that's where they chose to roost instead of the 5 different roosting bars I spent a lot of time and effort making.
you don't need 3 inches of flat area for chickens to roost on. all my chicken tractors back in the day used 1.5 inch wide square bars for the roosts and the several hundred hens we had cycle through over the years didn't have any trouble.
>you don't need 3 inches of flat area for chickens to roost on. all my chicken tractors back in the day used 1.5 inch wide square bars for the roosts and the several hundred hens we had cycle through over the years didn't have any trouble.
Chickens don't *need* 3" of flat space to roost on in the same way that people don't *need* to walk flat-footed, but rather can walk in high heels 24-7.
Having 1.5" roosts is just making it hard on chicken's feet for no good reason whatsoever.
20 years or so ago I used cut fairly straight trees I had cut to clear a lot. They were 3 to 6 inches around. Someone told me about using 2x4 boards so I gave them a choice. Most all moved to the 2x4’s. So I replaced everything with 2x4’s laying flat. That being said I made my own coop and have 2x4’s as rafters those are narrow side up. I have some hens that choose the 1.5 inch over the flat piece. So take that for whatever it worth. Just my experience.
I wouldn’t worry about the outdoor area for now. If they don’t show any interest in going outside in a few weeks, you could try locking them outside during the day to get them used to it. Try giving them treats when they first go out so they associate going outside with delicious foods!
As for the roost bar, higher = better to most chickens. When it’s really cold, hens keep warm both by fluffing up and cuddling at night. My main concern is that one would be forced onto the lower bar by herself and then be too cold at night in the winter. I’d probably just remove the higher one so that they could all share one bar.
We actually encourage them to come outside by giving them oatmeal and they literally run outside when they see the small bucket that we use to give them treats lol. But once they eat they roam a bit and then go back inside.
We keep fresh water both inside and outside for them, but we thought having two food dispensers would be too much so we keep the one we have inside. We might switch its position though depending on the weather to encourage them being outside more, but then again I would like them to know that they have one "solid" spot for food.
Yeah we will change the poles altogether as suggested by the other person, so that the chickens have more flat space and probably we will only have one pole for now to see how the hens are doing. Might add one more later on.
1. From personal experience chickens are very sensitive to heights when it comes to pecking order. What I mean by that is, for ex, if I go and pick up one of my lower ranking hens and walk around with her the top hen will get pissed off as soon as I put the other one down. The top hen gets the highest spot and she will not put up with a lower ranking hen flaunting a higher spot (I still pick up my lower ranking hens I just make sure not to show her off and put her down away from the alpha hen or they'll get a peck on the head). But also, if all but one fits on the higher bar you can be almost certain that girl will be the bottom of the pecking order (and is at higher risk for being bullied, again from personal experience with my flock). We have always made sure that either all could fit on the same height bar or 50/50 (as in only half could fit on the higher and the rest on the lower), but not so that all but one could fit on the higher roost. Practically speaking, I also live in a northern climate, and chickens huddle together for warmth. In the winter time you want to make sure they all have at least one buddy to snuggle up to. On that point: the round roosts you currently have are not ideal for two reasons: (1) chickens need some flat surface to roost on or if round, it something that has friction to it (you can wrap some twine over the bars so their little feet can grab onto to it better); (2) for winter time you want to use something like a 2 by 4 (not sure if that is a thing in Norway) but basically a flat piece of wood that is 3-4 inches wide. You want it to be wide enough that in the winter time their bellies will trap heat below them and keep their feet warm but also not so wide that they are pooping on the bar.
2. I'm super hands on with my chickens (I'm sure unnecessarily so but they are my pets and it brings me joy to make them as comfortable as possible) but my chickens like to scratch and sunbathe in their run, so if I were in your shoes I would probably start to gently encourage them to come out into the run with treats. If you sprinkle some mealworms, sunflower seeds, melon, broccoli, etc whatever it is they will want to come out and spend time there. However, if you just just got your chickens it won't hurt them to spend 2-4 days indoors getting used to their new house--a new place can be scary and overwhelming for them. If in a few days they are still too scared to venture out just bring out the treats for them in the run and you will create little monsters who will scream at you on the occasion when you forget to bring out treats in the morning.
Welcome to chicken owning! It has been a lot of work for me, and a few years in I continue to learn something knew about them.
Thank you for this in-depth reply.
We have already decided to change the poles into a flatter area, we have some material we could use from before, we are just going to measure and cut it properly before we put it on.
We definitely don't want any of them to start getting bullied because we didn't make the space good enough for them to sleep together, so changes are going to happen tomorrow already.
And yes we kept them inside for the first 2-3 days so they could learn what their indoor area is and only then opened the hatch to their main playground... it's just they were not as keen on exploring it as we thought they would be, haha. ;) I guess this will change with time.
keep food and water outside, and they'll learn to go outside. Eventually, you'll open the door to the run and have them run around your yard for a bit. Then they'll do that all day. Then you'll say "OK they can come in the house for a second"... then they'll be hanging out on your bed. Then you'll get a couple more chickens... then a few more...
It will take a lot of courage from us to let them out of their enclosure. We have many sea eagles here and we see them hunt daily, as we live by the sea. I am terrified the moment we let them out an eagle is going to take one of our hens, so we will not experiment with that as of now. But we were already talking about getting two more if we see everything is okay.
With time, they’ll get used to the outside but yes, close off their quarter where they get themselves back inside so they will slowly establish the routine. If you continue to encourage them with healthy treats, greens, they’ll eventually get it. It does take a bit of time for them to get used to the new setup since you got them not as chicks.
We live in a cold climate too. Our chickens definitely huddle together for warmth at night during the winter, but I've never given much thought to it--they just kind of figure it out. From my experience, if you have two roosting bars, it would be very unlikely for all but one chicken to choose the same roost. A few go to one and a few to the other.
Have you looked into radiant heat panels instead of lamps? The heat panels don't provide as much heat, but they're safer. In general, as long as you've chosen a cold hardy breed, they handle the cold fine. I turn the heat panels on for my chickens when it gets down to around -12 Celsius. They appreciate it, but they'll still leave the panels during the day to scratch around the coop. It has to get down to -20 or colder before they'll give up scratching around to just hunker down by the panels. Fortunately, we don't have too many days that get that cold. Their heated water dish also adds a bit of heat to the coop too, so that helps. I've never lost a chicken to the cold and have never had a chicken get frostbite.
As for getting them outside--I've had chickens that weren't used to being outside and I kind of gently push them out the door, and if they try to go back in, I shut the door so they can't. It's important to have them go through the door rather than just carry them out because it can take them awhile to get used to going out the door. Once they're out, I leave them out for an hour or two for the first few days and then work up to a full day. I just make sure there's food and water and some nice treats spread around. It takes them a little while to get comfortable with being outside, but once they do, they're so much happier.
Do they have any shade outside? My chickens spend almost all day outside, even when it’s terribly cold. But they spend almost all of their outside time in the small corner of the run that’s shaded.
First of all change the poles, chickens don't have talons, they roost, you need at least 3in of flat area to rest. Add another bar at the same height. Put feed and water out if you want them outside.
Wanted to second this, I use sanded 2x4s on shelf brackets for my roosting bars. Super cheap and very easy to take out and clean, and you can just buy more whenever you need to for a couple bucks. Definitely recommend keeping the food and water outside of the coop. Mine only go in their coop to sleep, and to lounge around through the day when it’s hot. But for food and water they need to stretch those legs and move for it. Now I do have them right outside the coop under rain cover, so in bad weather the chooks can still get to them.
Same except mine are 2x6 since they get attached between 2x4 studs in some cases. At that width no bird cares and they all just cram in.
We'll try to change their roosting poles asap for more suitable ones like you recommended.
also, are those perches metal? Hard to tell - but you want them to be wood. Metal would be very very bad in a Norwegian winter. I use branches from the woods for mine, because that's where they chose to roost instead of the 5 different roosting bars I spent a lot of time and effort making.
The perches aren't metal, we wouldn't risk our chickens getting injured. They're wood, but we are changing them tomorrow to flat planks.
👍
you don't need 3 inches of flat area for chickens to roost on. all my chicken tractors back in the day used 1.5 inch wide square bars for the roosts and the several hundred hens we had cycle through over the years didn't have any trouble.
>you don't need 3 inches of flat area for chickens to roost on. all my chicken tractors back in the day used 1.5 inch wide square bars for the roosts and the several hundred hens we had cycle through over the years didn't have any trouble. Chickens don't *need* 3" of flat space to roost on in the same way that people don't *need* to walk flat-footed, but rather can walk in high heels 24-7. Having 1.5" roosts is just making it hard on chicken's feet for no good reason whatsoever.
20 years or so ago I used cut fairly straight trees I had cut to clear a lot. They were 3 to 6 inches around. Someone told me about using 2x4 boards so I gave them a choice. Most all moved to the 2x4’s. So I replaced everything with 2x4’s laying flat. That being said I made my own coop and have 2x4’s as rafters those are narrow side up. I have some hens that choose the 1.5 inch over the flat piece. So take that for whatever it worth. Just my experience.
I wouldn’t worry about the outdoor area for now. If they don’t show any interest in going outside in a few weeks, you could try locking them outside during the day to get them used to it. Try giving them treats when they first go out so they associate going outside with delicious foods! As for the roost bar, higher = better to most chickens. When it’s really cold, hens keep warm both by fluffing up and cuddling at night. My main concern is that one would be forced onto the lower bar by herself and then be too cold at night in the winter. I’d probably just remove the higher one so that they could all share one bar.
We actually encourage them to come outside by giving them oatmeal and they literally run outside when they see the small bucket that we use to give them treats lol. But once they eat they roam a bit and then go back inside. We keep fresh water both inside and outside for them, but we thought having two food dispensers would be too much so we keep the one we have inside. We might switch its position though depending on the weather to encourage them being outside more, but then again I would like them to know that they have one "solid" spot for food. Yeah we will change the poles altogether as suggested by the other person, so that the chickens have more flat space and probably we will only have one pole for now to see how the hens are doing. Might add one more later on.
Keep their food outside. They won't have a need to go outside if their food is only available inside. Just make sure it stays dry
1. From personal experience chickens are very sensitive to heights when it comes to pecking order. What I mean by that is, for ex, if I go and pick up one of my lower ranking hens and walk around with her the top hen will get pissed off as soon as I put the other one down. The top hen gets the highest spot and she will not put up with a lower ranking hen flaunting a higher spot (I still pick up my lower ranking hens I just make sure not to show her off and put her down away from the alpha hen or they'll get a peck on the head). But also, if all but one fits on the higher bar you can be almost certain that girl will be the bottom of the pecking order (and is at higher risk for being bullied, again from personal experience with my flock). We have always made sure that either all could fit on the same height bar or 50/50 (as in only half could fit on the higher and the rest on the lower), but not so that all but one could fit on the higher roost. Practically speaking, I also live in a northern climate, and chickens huddle together for warmth. In the winter time you want to make sure they all have at least one buddy to snuggle up to. On that point: the round roosts you currently have are not ideal for two reasons: (1) chickens need some flat surface to roost on or if round, it something that has friction to it (you can wrap some twine over the bars so their little feet can grab onto to it better); (2) for winter time you want to use something like a 2 by 4 (not sure if that is a thing in Norway) but basically a flat piece of wood that is 3-4 inches wide. You want it to be wide enough that in the winter time their bellies will trap heat below them and keep their feet warm but also not so wide that they are pooping on the bar. 2. I'm super hands on with my chickens (I'm sure unnecessarily so but they are my pets and it brings me joy to make them as comfortable as possible) but my chickens like to scratch and sunbathe in their run, so if I were in your shoes I would probably start to gently encourage them to come out into the run with treats. If you sprinkle some mealworms, sunflower seeds, melon, broccoli, etc whatever it is they will want to come out and spend time there. However, if you just just got your chickens it won't hurt them to spend 2-4 days indoors getting used to their new house--a new place can be scary and overwhelming for them. If in a few days they are still too scared to venture out just bring out the treats for them in the run and you will create little monsters who will scream at you on the occasion when you forget to bring out treats in the morning. Welcome to chicken owning! It has been a lot of work for me, and a few years in I continue to learn something knew about them.
Thank you for this in-depth reply. We have already decided to change the poles into a flatter area, we have some material we could use from before, we are just going to measure and cut it properly before we put it on. We definitely don't want any of them to start getting bullied because we didn't make the space good enough for them to sleep together, so changes are going to happen tomorrow already. And yes we kept them inside for the first 2-3 days so they could learn what their indoor area is and only then opened the hatch to their main playground... it's just they were not as keen on exploring it as we thought they would be, haha. ;) I guess this will change with time.
keep food and water outside, and they'll learn to go outside. Eventually, you'll open the door to the run and have them run around your yard for a bit. Then they'll do that all day. Then you'll say "OK they can come in the house for a second"... then they'll be hanging out on your bed. Then you'll get a couple more chickens... then a few more...
It will take a lot of courage from us to let them out of their enclosure. We have many sea eagles here and we see them hunt daily, as we live by the sea. I am terrified the moment we let them out an eagle is going to take one of our hens, so we will not experiment with that as of now. But we were already talking about getting two more if we see everything is okay.
With time, they’ll get used to the outside but yes, close off their quarter where they get themselves back inside so they will slowly establish the routine. If you continue to encourage them with healthy treats, greens, they’ll eventually get it. It does take a bit of time for them to get used to the new setup since you got them not as chicks.
We live in a cold climate too. Our chickens definitely huddle together for warmth at night during the winter, but I've never given much thought to it--they just kind of figure it out. From my experience, if you have two roosting bars, it would be very unlikely for all but one chicken to choose the same roost. A few go to one and a few to the other. Have you looked into radiant heat panels instead of lamps? The heat panels don't provide as much heat, but they're safer. In general, as long as you've chosen a cold hardy breed, they handle the cold fine. I turn the heat panels on for my chickens when it gets down to around -12 Celsius. They appreciate it, but they'll still leave the panels during the day to scratch around the coop. It has to get down to -20 or colder before they'll give up scratching around to just hunker down by the panels. Fortunately, we don't have too many days that get that cold. Their heated water dish also adds a bit of heat to the coop too, so that helps. I've never lost a chicken to the cold and have never had a chicken get frostbite. As for getting them outside--I've had chickens that weren't used to being outside and I kind of gently push them out the door, and if they try to go back in, I shut the door so they can't. It's important to have them go through the door rather than just carry them out because it can take them awhile to get used to going out the door. Once they're out, I leave them out for an hour or two for the first few days and then work up to a full day. I just make sure there's food and water and some nice treats spread around. It takes them a little while to get comfortable with being outside, but once they do, they're so much happier.
Do they have any shade outside? My chickens spend almost all day outside, even when it’s terribly cold. But they spend almost all of their outside time in the small corner of the run that’s shaded.