Your First Week with Backyard Chickens

The first week sets the tone for the next five years. Hens are creatures of routine, and the patterns you establish now — feeding times, where treats happen, how you enter the run — become the patterns they expect for the rest of their lives. Here's what to focus on.

Day 1: Let them settle

Resist the urge to handle them. Put them in the coop, latch the door, and walk away. Fresh water and feed should already be in place. They will be stressed from transport — quiet is the kindest thing you can give them.

Days 2–3: Establish the coop as home

Keep them inside the coop (not the run) for two to three full days. This teaches them where to come back to roost. Skipping this step is the most common reason new keepers find their birds trying to roost in trees on night three.

Days 4–5: Open the run

Open the pop door in the morning and let them explore the run on their own terms. Don't chase or carry them out — they'll come when they're ready. By dusk, they'll usually put themselves to bed in the coop. If a few stragglers don't, gently nudge them in and shut the door.

Days 6–7: Start the daily check

By the end of week one you should have a 60-second daily routine: count the birds, check water, glance at the poop board, peek for eggs (even if they're not laying yet), and look for anything off — limping, hunched posture, missing feathers in patches. This is the single best habit a backyard keeper can build.

Things to log from day one

• Date you got each bird and approximate age
• Breed (or best guess)
• Feed brand and type
• Anything unusual — even small things you'd otherwise forget

A month from now you'll be glad you wrote it down. GoodCoop's tracker is built around this exact pattern — log once, ask the Coop Assistant later.

GoodCoop's AI Coop Assistant can answer questions like this about your specific flock, anytime. Start your free 14-day trial at goodcoop.app.