Chicks roosting

We built a brooder before we brought our chicks home. Originally we ordered 22 (20 pullets, 2 cockerels). A short series of events resulted in us leaving the store again the next day with 9 additional chicks (supposed to be all gals). I put the roosts in when they started jumping around a lot, about a week old.

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Now they are getting so big and are WAY too crowded, but here they are a couple days ago, 4 weeks old. They do like the roosts and use them frequently, just not to sleep at night.

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There is slso two little Bantams now as well. We are all looking forward to this weekend when they will be moved outside and be "free" from their crowded confinement! Hopefully they will figure it out soon. :-D
 
Unfortunately my roost bars aren't that much higher than the nest boxes in think that's why it helped with my chickens if they are higher it's not really much of a problem
Yeah, I'm not sure what the optimal height is so I just put mine about 4' high with a ladder/ramp leading up to them. Actually mine consist of (2) 2"x4"x8' boards that sit in rafter braces so I can remove them. I also made a ladder out of 2X4's that's about 3' wide and the lower ranking birds sometimes roost on the top steps of that. I also built a large ladder roost that sits in my run and I frequently see birds on the top rung which is about 6' off the ground. So I'm not sure where they're most comfortable so I just make them as high as is practical for them to get up to that'll fit in my spaces. The only thing I can say for sure is they sure like getting elevated wherever they can and don't require any motivation. That's been my experience anyway.
 
We built a brooder before we brought our chicks home. Originally we ordered 22 (20 pullets, 2 cockerels). A short series of events resulted in us leaving the store again the next day with 9 additional chicks (supposed to be all gals). I put the roosts in when they started jumping around a lot, about a week old.



Now they are getting so big and are WAY too crowded, but here they are a couple days ago, 4 weeks old. They do like the roosts and use them frequently, just not to sleep at night.



There is slso two little Bantams now as well. We are all looking forward to this weekend when they will be moved outside and be "free" from their crowded confinement! Hopefully they will figure it out soon. :-D
Oh yeah, I'm sure they'll be happy campers when they can stretch their wings a bit. I know mine were ecstatic. They were a little apprehensive for about the first few minutes in their new coop but you could tell they felt a lot better in there. I left them in the coop for about three days before opening up the door to the run for them. I thought it might take a while before they got the courage to go in the run but after about 15 minutes of poking her head out, one of the gals stepped outside and I guess when the others saw she was still alive out there they all followed suit. Now when I open the door in the mornings before I head off to work, you have to be sure to stand to the side of the door because they exit the coop like Marines hitting the beach - you'll get run over if you get in their way. I keep reminding myself they're supposed to just be farm animals but they really are a bunch of characters and an awful lot of fun to watch and interact with. After starting this first flock I'm very seriously thinking about building another coop and trying my hand at breeding some rarer breeds like Dominiques. I think that would be a lot of fun. Chickens really grow on ya.
 
LOL Yes, they are so fun, I really enjoy ours. They are silly and suspicious. My babies ran out of food today, and went crazy when I refilled the feeder. So in an attempt to calm and spread them out, I filled a bowl with food and put it in for them and they freaked out! Then they would not go near it, but stood back in a circle staring at it and chattering about it. Then one would cautiously step forward to eyeball it, another would screech, and they would all freak out again! LOL So I had to reach in and pick up a small handful to show them it was okay! Silly things! :-D

Our current flock outside is 5 right now, so I have been considering every possible different way to introduce the young ones with the least amount of trauma. The adults are all pretty docile, so I am hoping for a smooth transition all around. I still haven't figured it all out yet, but I am doing what I can to make sure the young ones have safe places to escape to.
 
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Here's an article on how to integrate chicks safely with older chickens. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...rooder-and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors

You begin by introducing them to the flock via a safe pen, later opening portals from that pen into the main run so the chicks can mingle with the adults while still having a safe refuge to run back to where they're safe. I dubbed this the "panic room" method of integration. It's worked for nine batches of chicks over the years, and never had a bad experience. It allows you safely to integrate chicks as young as three weeks, rather than needing to wait until they're three months and nearly full grown.
 
Wow, three weeks??? I wasn't even considering starting till at least 4 weeks old, but 3 would have been nice because the dust they create inside is killing me. I was planning on moving the brood box out to the coop, then opening it up into a "panic room" (love the phrase!), and we've also been working on putting together more safe places for them to run to if need be.
 
Actually, I expose my babies to the adult flock from the time I get them soon after hatching. Three weeks is how old they need to be to first let them actually mingle with the flock via their panic room. I hope you've given the article a careful read by now. It involves following the steps so the chicks are accepted by the flock before they mingle.
 
I was able to get to it, and I love the idea! I wish I had come across it 5 weeks ago, before we got our chicks. Although, the major part of why we brooded inside was to also get the dogs to learn that the chicks are not to be chased or eaten. Our box is on the floor, and is wire on the front and top so everyone can get to know each other. I very likely would have changed my mind and our whole setup if I'd come across this method back then. If we ever have chicks again, I will. :-D Our chicks are not afraid of us or our animals, but they haven't seen adult chickens yet, so the introduction and integration process begins today, at 4.5 weeks old.
 
Actually, I expose my babies to the adult flock from the time I get them soon after hatching. Three weeks is how old they need to be to first let them actually mingle with the flock via their panic room. I hope you've given the article a careful read by now. It involves following the steps so the chicks are accepted by the flock before they mingle.


I agree on this method for sure! My issue is space but I'm working on it. Definitely better to access the chicks at the same level instead of from above. My chicks now jump out on my hands and hang out with me. I let them outside the other day for the first time and they love the outdoors. As soon as they are fully feathered I'm making a mini pin to put in the large pin but I'll still hAve to put them in a mini coop with my set up.
 
Mine are roosting at times at 2 weeks old. Not all the time, not all night, but they do roost during the day, sometimes three in a row (I have 6 chicks). I put natural sticks through a cardboard box with one side removed and set that in the brooder. They seem to get the idea of roosting.
 

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