When are pullets ready to get moved to the chicken coop? Well, according to this chicken care guide by Patrick Biggs, Ph.D. at Purina, six weeks is the right time. And, that means for our adorable little feather balls, it’s time to move to the chicken coop.
If you’re lost, make sure to read our post from last week, where we talked about how we got our first backyard chickens.
Preparing the Coop
In anticipation for moving the chicks this morning, we planned ahead to ensure our coop was ready to receive them. For us, the coop had been on our property for who knows how long. And, the previous owners had a pack of dogs living in the coop. So, the first thing we had to do was give the coop a thorough cleaning.
We’re not just talking about clearing out the junk left behind or the dust and cobwebs either. Instead, we thoroughly cleared everything out, got ourselves a bleach solution, and make sure to clean every inch of that coop. Sure, our birds are egg-layers, but cleanliness with chickens is an important thing. Leaving nothing to chance, we also had to make a few repairs, add some hardware cloth to strategic parts of the coop, and replace some rotted pieces of wood.
With all this done, we wait to put down the pine shavings until this morning before relocating the pullets to their new home.
How to Move Pullets from Brooder to Coop
There’s probably a lot of ways we could have done this. And, if our brooder were a bit more sophisticated, our recommended movement method would likely have been to just pick up the brooder, place it in the coop, and then let them free.
In our case, the cardboard brooder held up well enough, but it was not something we could move. So, we went back to where the chicks were first housed the day they came to our homestead -we took a Rubbermaid storage container and put down enough bedding for them to make the trip. Sure, it was only a few hundred feet or so, but we wanted to make the journey as painless as possible.
Settling the Birds in Their New Home
Now that we have the six birds settled into their coop, it’s time to share with the world their names. For the Rhode Island Reds, we have Audrey, Betty, Dorothy, Frannie, and Gertrude. And, our lone ameraucana pullet is named Eleanor. Because of her propensity to jump on our hands for roosting, she holds a special place in our hearts.
As you can see, it seems they are settling into their coop nicely as well. In another few weeks, we’ll look forward to letting them out into the run. For now, let’s just hope they get used to having more space and they continue to enjoy our company.
If you are on the fence about getting started with your own chickens, stop holding off and get started. Until next time, we’ll see you around the homestead!