2 coops, 1 run, old flock + new flock?

[darkbyrd]

I'm busy learning and planning for my flock of chickens, and this site has been MOST helpful, especially the "things I've learned while building my coop" thread (highly reccommended, newbies go to https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=140561&p=1 ). So, while I plan to build a coop for my 8-10 birds, once they mature they will share a run (or free range with) my dad's 3 hens. Once the fence between them comes down, what will happen? Will my birds join his coop, his come to mine, or every girl stay where they are? Or, if I want to empty my coop to brood more chicks, will my flock roost in his coop happily? (Plenty of room in his coop). Also, we have two roosters that free-range (they roost in the tree, and have the run of the farm), will they co-exist with my new girls, or is this a wait and see situation?

One interesting thing, I see often that roosters won't get along, especially if they don't have enough hens to go around. Our two roosters are best buddies, hanging out together almost all the time. And they have no access to the ladies right now, except for the occasional time a hen gets out or a rooster gets into the pen. Is this normal?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Chicken Chat]

I have somewhat the same setup. I have a very large fenced in run (about an acre and a half) and this past spring I added another coop in that run. Since I was adding new chicks that I had incubated that winter to the new coop, I ran a temporary fence, dividing the run between the two coops. I wanted my little ones to settle into their new coop and also let everybody get used to one another. About a month later I took down the temporary fencing, everybody got along great! At first, I noticed that the two flocks stayed to their own coops for egg laying and roosting. At around 2 months of togetherness, I noticed that a handful of hens (from both coops) decided that they liked the other coop's nestboxes for laying. I would see them bolt in the mornings when I let them out and dash over to the other coop to lay their eggs, but they still roosted in their original coops. A month after than I started seeing the wrong hens roosting in the wrong coops. At first, I would pick them up and put them where they belonged but I gave up on that.

Yours will probably go back and forth. "The grass is always greener" kind of thing. Regarding your roos, if they are buds now, they probably will be fine, it just depends on your roos.