So the coop is finished enough to get the girls moved in before winter sets in. Which is late this year, but that’s totally okay. The warmer than usual temperatures have given me a longer window of opportunity to get the coop ready.
The ducks and chickens usually keep to themselves when I let them out to roam free. Moving them in together will be interesting. Until now, they’ve lived in separate pens/coops in different parts of the yard.
Putting them in the coop at the same time means no one gets territorial, hopefully lessening the chances for fighting. Think of it as a large, wooden “get-along” t-shirt… (crosses fingers)
The Move
I moved the chickens first, only by a few minutes. My family each carried one out to the new coop and set them inside on the new perch.
Next was to move the ducks. I raised two of my ducks from hatchlings. The other, Lovegood, came home with us when she was just a few weeks old. They’ll tolerate me going in their pen and house to gather eggs and feed and water them, but they would rather not be near any humans. Especially little humans. They’re a lot like cats in my opinion.
We decided that it would be the least stressful to let them out of their old pen and herd them over to the new enclosure and let them go in themselves. It took three of us humans to get them pointed in the right direction, but in just a few short minutes, we got them in. Into the outside pen, then up the ramp and into their new home.
The chickens are so much more curious than the ducks, so they looked around and observed everything they could from the safety of the perch.
The ducks placed themselves in a back corner, but did venture out to get some slurps of water from the new waterer, and checked out the hanging feeder.
I plugged in a bright set of led holiday lights for the night, so they could see enough to move around safely.
So far, the girls are being civil to one another. The “get-along” t-shirt is working!
Update
It’s been 6 days since moving in, and they all seem to be getting along. They all can be on the floor at the same time, and everyone seems to be okay with that. I have the waterer and feeders kind of in the middle, somewhat dividing the floor space in half. The idea is to give them some sense of separation when they eat or drink.
After these past 6 days, I’d say it was a success. I hear a feathery scuffle every few days or so, but I think they’ll be okay.
I have a lot to get done still on the coop. It’s going to have to wait for spring.
