We currently have 10 bantams hens who are free range by day and share a large coop together at night. We would like to raise more hens from fertilised eggs next year using our broodiest hens. We are happy to buy another coop but think that once the chicks are old enough to join the others, they will follow mum to bed in the old coop and then we will have overcrowding! Is this what is likely to happen? Is there a way to encourage existing hens/new hens to use a new home and split the brood? Or are we going to have to lift them out and move them every day?! Views please. Thanks.
I would enlarge the coop you have, or connect them inside in some way so the chickens can go back and forth. I think you will find they won't readily accept your assignments for them, and indeed may go back and forth for no apparent reason.
Many folks find that the easiest way to raise chicks with broodies is to let them do it all in the same coop as the rest of the flock....so a bigger coop, with the option to partition off separate areas if absolutely necessary might be the best bet.
I raise chicks with or without a hen in the same coop as the older birds. I start out with a large metal dog crate and then partition off a corner (this is done with wire so all can see each other) of the coop when they out grow the dog crate. If raising chicks with a hen once the hen starts to "wean" her chicks I remove her and let the chicks grow to about three months and then remove the partition. I've been doing this for 20 years and no issues.
This is how we do it also... in fact I intend to do an addition for the existing coop with the specific intent to use the additional space for convertible broody apartments.... basically an area which can either be open to the entire coop or partitioned off with wire for a few days of privacy. Our hens raising the broods in the coop means we don't have to fuss with integration. But we have so many broodies I want to provide them with a more permanent set up so we don't have to fix up temporary areas so often.
