Hello everyone

[meggy77]

I'm so happy to have found this site. I'm a newbie chicken owner & can use all the help I can get. I have 6 baby white leghorns that are about 2.5 weeks old (I'm assuming) I got them from Tractor Supply last Friday. When I went in Tractor Supply they were very busy and I didn't have a lot of help. I wish I had done a little more research and gotten a couple different breeds. I knew I only wanted hens and when I told them that they said I could only pic out of one container (which houses the White Leghorn pullets) I was thinking about getting two more of a different breed but is it safe to put new baby chicks in with 2- 3 weeks old chickens?... I know I won't be able to do it when they are bigger. Also, my coop arrived today from Chicken Saloon today (which I wish I had found this website before I ordered) the coop is supposed to hold up to 10 chickens.... would I be pushing it with 8? I don't won't over crowd them . Any tips you have with all of this will be greatly appreciated

 

[chicken-whisperer]

Welcome
I have put newly hatched chicks in a brooder with 2 week old with no problem . My feed store sells chicks from 3 day old up to pullets. So you can buy the same age.Without knowing the size of the coop If you let them out often and keep the pen clean they should be alright.

 

[drumstick diva]

Two or three week old chicks are MUCH bigger and stronger than day olds and will bully them away from food and water, and probably peck as well. The older chicks will be starting to determine peeking order. Newbies are especially fragile in such a situation. You can certainly integrate your old and young chicks later on. I would not put them in the same brooder with the older ones unless you can partition it off - so they can see each other but, cause no harm. This is very much the way they can be safely integrated when older.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC. I agree with D/Diva. Re: the coop, whilst I have not seen the dimensions of it, I would not imagine keeping any more than half the max number claimed. The rule of thumb is 4sqft per bird, 1 ft roost space and 10 sqft per bird run space. These are minimums so I advise not trying to max out on the number of birds the coop can realistically hold, according to these figures. These figures are not caste in stone, but are a good starting point.

These links may be helpful at the moment:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-and-raising-chicks
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/raising-your-baby-chicks
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ks-the-first-60-days-of-raising-baby-chickens


You'll find lots of info in the Learning Centre - https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center and if you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/270925/find-your-states-thread#post_3239224

All the best
CT

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under meggy77

Welcome & Congratulations!

As you have already received links to some good starting points and some good advice, I will just wish you all the best.

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I have successfully mixed chicks of those age ranges -- in fact, there are currently 6,5 and 3 week old chicks in the coop as I type.....the youngest came in at 3 days of age when the older were 2&3 weeks of age.  It is a good idea to keep an eye on things to be sure there is no bullying, but it can very successfully be done.....providing lots of space and more than one feed/water station can help if you do see problems developing

Here are the two Littles. ...clearly not a bit intimidated at feeding time

 

[meggy77]

Thanks for he advice. Here is the deminsions of my new coop

 

[Teila]

Thanks for he advice. Here is the deminsions of my new coop

Hey meggy77

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news and hope my math is incorrect and it could be because we work in metric, centimetres and metres ….

Because the coop is on top of the run and about the same size, I worked on 66” length and 49” width for the coop which includes the nest boxes [when working out minimum coop size requirements, nest boxes are not usually included because they are ‘dead space’].

So 66” being 5.5’ x 49” being 4’ = 22 square feet.

Working on the required minimum of 4 square foot per large chicken of coop space, that coop is OK for 5-6 chickens; probably less because that does include the nest boxes [dead space].

The run, however, looking to be the same length and width, at 10 square foot minimum per chicken is only OK for 2 chickens.

In a bit more detail ………….

We had a quiet day at work one day and in response to another thread and chatter about premade/kit coops, I picked what I believed was a well know manufacturer and did some calcs. That manufacturer was Chicken Saloon ….

Their 'Tavern’ was advertised as housing 3-5 chickens but if you go into the expanded details it mentions 4-6 large chickens.

Their 'Saloon' was advertised as housing 2-4 chickens.

So, for good measure, lets say the 'Saloon' houses 3 chickens and the 'Tavern' 4 chickens.

Using the measurements provided on site:
The 'Saloon' measures: 76″ long, 35″wide, 39″tall
The Tavern measures: 98″ long, 41″ wide, 61″tall

So, by that reckoning 1 large chicken only needs 22 inches long and 6 inches wide.

Their 'Ranch' was advertised as housing 10-15 chickens.

The ‘Ranch’ measures: 143” long, 68″ wide, 67″ tall.

That is pretty close to double the size of the Saloon which houses 2-4 chickens but the Ranch is advertised as housing 10-15 chickens?? I am not going to work out how many inches that gives each additional chicken on the Saloon v Ranch but suffice to say it ain't gunna be much.

Keeping it simple and focusing on the Ranch, lets be generous and for ease of math, say 10 chickens that means each chicken would have an area 14 inches long by 6.8 inches wide.

These are total areas including coop space, run and nest boxes. The nest boxes are basically dead space in a coop. So, the small amount per chicken above is actually being generous and works out at being even less space per chicken.

 

[meggy77]

Thanks for your help. Do you think I should get another coop to house the six chicks I have?

 

[Teila]

Thanks for your help. Do you think I should get another coop to house the six chicks I have?

Hey meggy77 yeah, as I said, not news I enjoyed delivering BUT there might be a way out.

As you have 6 chicks and the coop is, at a pinch, OK for 5-6 you might be able to get away with it, especially if they are free ranging.

However, as mentioned, the run is probably your biggest issue.

I am thinking that you could look at completely enclosing the coop and ‘run’ in another predator proof run. So, in essence, building them something bigger around it.

If you can cancel the order or return it, I would probably do that and look at buying a second hand coop or converting a shed into a coop which would probably be much better for your chickens and your purse