“We moved in Dec and my husband built a new chicken pen that is safe and has a nice roof so they can be out of the rain or snow. What we didn’t realize when we moved here… there are a lot of beautiful flowers and shrubs and grass. Well now when we let our girls out, they are eating everything. So we know we need to move them to a better place were they will not ruin the landscape.
We have 1.3 acres and have an area that is fenced and they love to go there… so we will make a new pen for them there…. question is: Can we just move them and put them in a new coop in the new area and they will adjust? We are going to leave the old coop where it is and we think we will use it for the “winter” home and there new one will be their “summer or warm weather” home. Can that work?” ~ Marilyn Wilkison
Marilyn,
How fortunate your chickens are to have a vacation home!
Seriously though, yes it can work.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind though before you consider moving them back and forth.
Anything out of the ordinary can cause stress in a flock and could cause a drop in egg production. It could also cause a stress induced molt.
In some cases, external stressors can’t be helped; a very loud thunderstorm, a close call with a predator, etc.
But as much as possible, we need to keep things pretty normal for the flock.
(Not boring, remember in recent weeks we’ve been talking about chicken’s destructive behavior when they’re bored.)
So Marilyn, when you initially move the flock to their new “home” there may be some stress involved while they adjust. Don’t be alarmed if you do see some molting or decline in egg production. Make sure they have a good diet and plenty of calcium to get back on track.
If they seem to adjust easily, I don’t think you’ll have any problems moving them from coop to coop.
An added benefit to having two coops is that if any health issues come up within the flock, you can quarantine easily in the second coop.
Best of luck to you.
