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This is great information, thank you! My coop is the same size as yours, and my green space is very large as well. It’s nice to know how you’ve handle your hens. It sounds like I need to trust mama and she will take care of it all!Hi, welcome to the forum from Louisiana. Glad you joined.
The reason you read so many different things is that we do so many different things. We have different set-ups with different sizes and shapes of coops, different runs or free range, urban or rural, different flocks and flock make-ups, different experiences, the differences go on and on. Something that works for one person may not work for another person. Sometime someone reads something and thinks that they have to do it that way when they really don't. There is a ton of information on this but one of your challenges is trying to figure out if it actually applies to your situation. That's not always easy.
My flock typically consists of an adult rooster, adult hens, and often juveniles of different ages. Some juveniles are brooder raised, some broody raised. I have an 8' x 12' ground level main coop, two 4' x 8' shelters where they can sleep, and over 3,000 square feet in the run. I let my broody hens hatch and raise the chicks with the flock.
I let my broody hens decide when to bring her chicks off of the nest. I have food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it plus I have food and water outside. Most of that 3,000 square feet is grass. Each brood is different in some way but I'll run through what might be typical.
After the broody brings them off of the nest, they might stay two days and nights in the coop before she brings them outside. About the third day she takes them outside. At dark she brings them back in the coop where they spend the night sleeping on the coop floor. After that she takes them out every day and they spend practically all day foraging and playing in the grass. They do eat the chicken feed, it's not just foraging, but they spend a lot of time outside. At night they return to the coop to sleep.
At some point the broody will wean her chicks, leave them on their own to make their way with the flock. I've had broody hens wean their chicks at 3 weeks of age, some don't wean them until more than two months. The hen has taught the others to leave her babies alone and the babies have learned how to get along. They typically form a sub-flock and avoid the main flock day and night until they mature enough to force their way into the pecking order. Then they merge into one flock.
I don't know how much room you have. I think that has a lot to do with how well this process works. If room is tight then this process can be more challenging. As I said, different things work for different people. I trust my broody hens and interfere with them as little as I can.
Good luck however you decide and once again,
