Tips for the Transition to the Coop!

Keep them safe

• They may be able to wiggle out of mesh with openings bigger than 1x2 inches. If your mesh is bigger, overlay it with hardware cloth until they are about 3 months old.

• Also, while unlikely, it is possible that a predator that is out during the day could reach in through the mesh and injure or kill a chicken at this age.

• Being small, they are more vulnerable to certain predators that would normally only be after the chicken feed or eggs, for example baby possums or rats. Keep the feeder in the run or remove at night.

• Place some kind of barrier between the ground and the bottom of the enclosure to keep burrowing predators away (wire, plywood, etc)

• Until the chickens are three months old, close the pop door at night. The pop door is the door that leads between the enclosure and the other part of the coop, the run. This will prevent smaller animals from getting in at night and causing trouble for your juvenille chickens. If your run is not totally enclosed, close the pop door every night no matter how old they are.

• At this age, chickens will tend to huddle together on the ground as they did in the brooder. When closing the coop, make sure that they’re up on one of the perches. Move them there if they're not.

They may be a little more nervous and reserved during the transition as they get used to the noises and bigness of the great outdoors!