Do I need to lock my new hens in their coop for 24-hours?

No, we don’t recommend this, all breeds are different but for breeds like Silkies, Polish etc… you want them to be acclimated as quickly as possible and we find shutting them in a coop then opening up yet more areas to them really causes stress. We recommend with al birds popping them in the coop when they arrive with the door open to allow them to see outside and to see their feed and water. We do advise keeping them in a run for at least the first 2 weeks to ensure they don’t wonder off if you give them too much freedom too quickly.