The Girls Are in the Coop

The chickens have successfully made it through their 3rd night outside in the coop. They have some supplemental heat (a heating pad made for this purpose), but so far I don’t think they’ve needed it. It’s as much for my peace of mind as for their benefit. It’s a bit early for them to be outside, but I went against the rules of thumb for a few reasons. The first being that I’ve watched them so closely. I’ve watched them outside in their temporary run on overcast breezy days. They don’t huddle together or stay near their heating pad. At night I’d begun cracking the window and watching how they slept, and then cracking the window just a little bit more. I also read content that indicated that hens that were (safely, smartly) exposed to lower temps when young seemed to handle cold better later. These hens seemed better able to resist injury during cold temps and continued laying eggs into colder weather. Lastly, we had some unseasonably warm days here in Denver. It was in the high 70s this week, and the low for Thursday was in the upper 50s. It was the perfect weather for acclimating, even if they weren’t fully feathered. Their necks still have some baby fluff, and the tops of their heads do too.

I got all the girls settled into their coop, and immediately set up a camera to watch and hear them better. If they were uncomfortable, I would hear their “something’s wrong” alarm like peeping. Before bed, I quietly snuck out to the coop to listen to them, and all was well. I checked the coop cam in the middle of the night and they were quiet then too.

It’s only been a few nights, but I can already tell the coop feels like home. If we are free ranging in the yard and there’s a scary noise, they know that their run is safety. At night as it starts to get dark, I’ll find that they have already (mostly) moved from their run into their coop. Luna, true to her name, will sometimes stay out a little later than the others.

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