Aha! I'd never heard of the herd before, so appreciate the information.
Still snowing in Idaho? Jeez Louise, school will be out tomorrow, here.
I use the chain link dog pen for growing them out, after they're too big to stay in the large dog crate. Brooder >>> dog crate >>> dog pen >>> full fledged chicken coop, is the sequence of abodes. At 2 months old, they're on stage 3. The pen is on the hill, just below the coop, so the other girls can come visit, intermingle germs/bacteria, and they can all get used to one another before everyone finally cohabitates. I'll keep the babies in there until they start laying around Labor Day. Then, it's off to the coop (Hen House and run).
I just lost another of my big girls, who are about 3 years old, so I'm down to 4, now, only 2 of whom are truly laying. After a lean summer, egg-wise, I'll be up to my knees in them this fall. Motor-mouth Margaret T. Hatcher vanished Tuesday afternoon after I got home from work. Just as well. She was the big cheese of the flock, but hardly ever laid. She was a Speckled Sussex ... very pretty, but bossy. Every time I paid attention to one of the others, she'd get jealous, come running over, jump up and peck her on the head. I wasn't looking forward to integrating the babies with her around. Seems my problem has been solved for me.