PLEASE HELP I DON"T KNOW WHAT TO DO

[LaFemmeKatia]

I am renting the chickens and the coop as a package. It comes with feeder, waterer, bedding, and food as well. It is a terribly small coop and run, and the whole rental thing is a complete rip off. It costs $1400 for this pathetic setup. I didn't want to rent them, I wanted to buy chicks and build a coop, but here we are. They are ok with me touching them, and no longer run away when I try to nudge them away so I can do coop maintenance. I haven't had to pick any up, but I'm also unable to. I have been bringing lots of treats, so hopefully that will work!

Be patient. Every day that you are with them they are getting more used to your presence. You will have them eating out of your hand in no time. If you spend a little time with them every day offering little treats, they will look forward to you coming out to them. It just takes time. I raised my chickens from day old peeps and they still don’t want me to touch them. (They are two months old). I’m not giving up.

 

[black_cat]

Be patient. Every day that you are with them they are getting more used to your presence. You will have them eating out of your hand in no time. If you spend a little time with them every day offering little treats, they will look forward to you coming out to them. It just takes time. I raised my chickens from day old peeps and they still don’t want me to touch them. (They are two months old). I’m not giving up.

It's been a surprisingly fast turnaround for me. I'm sure I'd have no problem getting them to eat out of my hand, as I poke bits of melon and stuff through the HC with my fingers. They now will peck at my fingers if I just put them near the HC! I mostly don't touch them because I don't have real access to them. I'm hopeful that once we're able to do some supervised/fenced free ranging, I'll be able to get them used to being picked up.

 

[rocking chickens]

When looking for coops craigslist and other sites like it can have coops that are very nice for very cheap.

 

[NatJ]

I'm a bit confused. What do you mean by 'a different style' of prebuilt coop?

Like the ones in these pictures:
https://neoutdoor.com/combination-chicken-coops/
(You would need the 6x12 foot one or larger. Assume it holds about 1/3 as many chickens as they say.)

Or like this "dog kennel":
https://www.thedogkennelcollection.com/dog-kennels/traditional-8x12-kennel-292/
(Add a roost and a few nestboxes, and maybe take the flap off the dog door, and it would be a very nice coop and run. With some added hardware cloth, that run would be secure enough that you could allow 24/7 access, and they might like to sleep on perches in the run during the hot summer.)

To my eyes, these look "different" than what you have right now. They do have an indoor space (sometimes a decently-sized one that you can walk into) and a covered "run" space that is definitely large enough to walk into. And they probably look nicer than what you have now, without being terribly large.

I do not know exactly where you are, so I do not know what companies sell such things in your area.

 

[black_cat]

Like the ones in these pictures:
https://neoutdoor.com/combination-chicken-coops/
(You would need the 6x12 foot one or larger. Assume it holds about 1/3 as many chickens as they say.)

Or like this "dog kennel":
https://www.thedogkennelcollection.com/dog-kennels/traditional-8x12-kennel-292/
(Add a roost and a few nestboxes, and maybe take the flap off the dog door, and it would be a very nice coop and run. With some added hardware cloth, that run would be secure enough that you could allow 24/7 access, and they might like to sleep on perches in the run during the hot summer.)

To my eyes, these look "different" than what you have right now. They do have an indoor space (sometimes a decently-sized one that you can walk into) and a covered "run" space that is definitely large enough to walk into. And they probably look nicer than what you have now, without being terribly large.

I do not know exactly where you are, so I do not know what companies sell such things in your area.

Oh, I understand what you're talking about! I had shied away from stuff like that before, and forgot that my parents are seemingly ready to pay insane amounts of money for much smaller coops. I'll look into it again! Thank you so much!

 

[rocking chickens]

With some of those combination coops I would recommend getting one that the chickens can not get under because it is a pain to deal with a chicken under the coop or clean it out ,etc.

 

[black_cat]

With some of those combination coops I would recommend getting one that the chickens can not get under because it is a pain to deal with a chicken under the coop or clean it out ,etc.

My friends have one like that, with run space under the coop, and it works just fine for them. I think that I will be better off with something like that because it helps with my parents' goal to take up less yard space.

 

[ChemicalchiCkns]

Your parents, in this, appear to show strange financial sense.

 

[Queensilkie]

Is it possible you can get connected with a local chicken keeper who may be able to foster your four hens for a few months while you sort things out? There might even be someone here, near your area, you could reach out to about fostering them for a while.

 

[black_cat]

Your parents, in this, appear to show strange financial sense.

I know, right? They usually make a lot of sense!