new to chickens - any tips?

[rhetorician]

we have just acquired 4 chickens - a maran, a white leghorn, a rhode island red and a blue bell. We have put them in their house to acclimatise (with food and water) and will let them out into the coop tomorrow - plan is to keep them in the coop for a few days before letting them roam a bit further. Any tips? thank you - we are all very excited

[jas1978]

Crazy as it sounds, make a calling sound when you feed them, even when they are in the coop something like "chuck-chuck-chuck-chuck" (high pitched) they will associate this with the food and come back if they are ever straying when they hear the call.

[UriGeller]

Just posting to follow the thread. I'm thinking of getting a few hens when we've sorted out the wilderness at the bottom of the garden!

[Strawdolly]

A quick poop pick and clean of the coop every day is easier than a once a week clean out.

Try to get them used to being handled, it makes life so much easier for giving them health checks and any treatment they might need. Start with a gentle stroke when you lock them up for the night and work on from there.

If you can, check for eggs throughout the day. Leaving them in the nest all day might encourage hens to go broody.

[RuncibleSpoonandaRing]

Watching this with interest, thinking of getting some. Read the medical books so you can identify things like them being egg bound.