how long do they need to stay inside

[spring lamb]

Hello everyone,

Just after some advice please,

I’m sure I’ve read that when you first bring your chickens home you need to keep them in the coop for so long to get them used to there new home.
Is this right or have I dreamt it?

I seem to have read so much about chicken keeping in the past couple of weeks that I’m not sure anymore

[stanhol]

Practical Poultry Magazine

Just come across this site. We havent got any chickens yet but hopefully will be soon! They have a forum.

God luck,

Sandra

[di]

we newbies to chook keeping too so you might want to wait for some more expert help,but we got ours few weks ago,farmer said to keep them in the coop;others said dont!?we put them in the coop but left the door open to let them decide!!(they have an enclosed run)they took their time but within an hour theyd all ventured into the big outside & seem happy as happy hens!!!Good Luck!

[yoanbob]

overnight is usually long enough, it just helps to learn that this is their new home so they go back in at night, you dont have to of course but playing catch the chicken in the dark isnt fun for you or them.

[Hilary B]

If they can't go wandering off into the far-blue-yonder, overnight will usually do. If they are battery-rescue birds you may need to venture out with a torch and lift them onto perches for a few nights, as they might have never seen a perch before and not be sure what to do with it.

[davefromthechipie]

Hello everyone,

Just after some advice please,

I’m sure I’ve read that when you first bring your chickens home you need to keep them in the coop for so long to get them used to there new home.
Is this right or have I dreamt it?

I seem to have read so much about chicken keeping in the past couple of weeks that I’m not sure anymore

New too but took mine a week inside coop and run , I let them out within 3 days and one started making a nest outside and layed there once , NOT GOOD really :F so put them back in for 4 more days and they always lay in there home now . Just a tip from a newb but dont let them out of the pen/house intill then have layed about 6 times then they will always come home at night.

[terrier]

We've always put new additions into the coop at night after dark, when it gets light in the morning they wake up in their 'new home' and that's where they return to at night. Never had a problem.
I've just found out that this doesn't apply to ex bats! They are just too confused. Give them as much time as they need

[sunflower]

As long as the henhouse is in an enclosed run, they can be let out the next day. After all, hens need to recognise the outside of their house and the location in which it is situated as well as the inside to return home at night after free ranging. Experts generally advise to keep them in an enclosed run with easy access to their house for five days before letting them free range.

[terrier]

After a week, our new ex bats are just starting to settle into a routine, they seem a lot less confused now. For the first four or five days, as darkness fell, they would just sit down where they were and we had to pick them up and put them in the coop. I think they're learning pretty quick.