First night in big coop

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Txhomestead

Txhomestead

In the Brooder
May 13, 2016
22
1
16
So tonight is the first night my new flock joins the old flock. (New flock of 8 old flock of 3) they share a big coop with 2 sheep and a baby goat.... I'm so nervous for my new flock they are 12 weeks old and I'm regretting putting them in tonight... I left the back porch light on so they won't be in the dark... there has been a few accidents with racoons or rats originally I had a flock of 10 but 2 went missing.. I really hope I don't get am I told yo u so because my husband thought it was too soon for me to put them in the pen with the older flock (2 girls and a roo)
 
My chicks were brooded in the coop since I got them as day-olds. They started integrating with my hens (30 chicks, 6 hens) at 5 weeks. I have an 8x16' coop that I can divide into two pens with a walkway in between. The hens were able to see the young ones through the chicken wire, then I started letting one or two hens at a time in with the chicks. It has worked well so far. I would be more concerned about the disappearing ones. When did they disappear? Were they loose, or did something get into their pen? Next time you decide to integrate, it might be an idea to do it during the day so you can monitor how things are going, rather than doing it at night. Nothing will happen during the night, but if they haven't had contact before, how do you know how the older ones will react in the morning?
 
Oh I had them inside my house since day old about at a month and a half I put them in a smaller coop next to my big coop just chicken wire separating them.. these will free range like for 3 hrs a day I will open their pen at 5 pm and they'll come back inside at dusk.. but this past sat my husband let them free range since 7 am.. and by the evening only 8 came back 2 went missing...they were getting cramped in their small pen it was basically all wire cage.. with a wooden floor and a pole where they perched at night.. I'm worried about rodents or racoons attacking them.. they haven't attacked my older hens but I'm still nervous.. behind my house there is a canal and getting 100%rid of rats is impossible using poison is not good because I have other animals
 
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