We have 6 chicken pens and some cages that we've built or are working with for our growing number of chickens. I think we can now officially say that we have juggled and moved chickens around until we are out of options on where to put more. I'll have to bite the bullet and build the new coop I've been talking about for so long. Only trouble is, I'll be out of town for the next two weeks! This is what happens when you go from 1 chicken to 50 in less that a year.
Yep - musical coops... our favorite game around here... LOL! Someome asked me THE question this week - how many chickens DO you have?? I said, 'hmmm...you know I really don't know for sure...' He said, 'more than 20...less than 50??' I said, 'oh, less than 50 for sure'. I got to thinking about it. (hides head...) I DO have more than 50.... ...not exactly sure HOW we go to THAT place. Anyway... here's MY chicken shuffle. -Hatch out the chicks. (12 peahen eggs in the bator now...) -Grow them in the brooder in the house (either a 10 gal aquarium OR a rubbermaid big container, depending on # of chicks) (4 silkie chicks and 2 peababies in there now...) -After 2-3 weeks, move them into the brooder in the outbuilding - that's a 3x9 ft chainlink dog kennel that I've reinforced with hardware cloth, filled in the bottom with shavings and hung a lamp. (5 silkie babies and 1 peababy in there now) -THEN they go to the 2nd kennel run depending on space OUTside - same setup as before, no heat lamp though. (home to "quarantine chicken" now - one of the batch of 15 Ameraucanas i hatched out back in May - the hate this chicken and peck him raw everytime i try to integrate him back in...so he's quarantine chicken until he's old enough to eat...unless someone here wants him...) -THEN it's to the outside grow-out pen - I have partitioned off part of the main chicken run. (home to the other 14 Ameraucanas at the moment) -FINALLY when they are big enough, they are integrated in with the big chickens...(currently the 8 we started with....8 more I hatched out last nov/dec...5 silkies...8 left from the 10 feedstore chicks from march -Oh, and the separate peapalace, home to my trio of peafowl... If you were keeping count....that's 53 chickens and 3 peababies + the 3 adults Not quite sure how I got here... but I am having a great time!!
Well I didn't go from 1 to 50, but I did try to use a tractor all around the yard and then move them into a larger lot during the day. (locked up at night) We did this little dance for a month & they got very use to it. Now we decided to build a larger movable tractor/coop in a larger fenced in area where we had our dogs, but then they died, we are having a HARD TIME getting them to go in at night (or when it rains!) We have started to go out each night and carry them into it. So far we are doing all the work. I have come to the conclusion that chickens are very much creatures of habit and like things the same all the time! best advice I would have is start some sleeping arrangements & stick with it (if possible) Good Luck! Lisa
Oh things are as routine as possible. I started out with a woodshed converted into a coop that was 23x8. Now it is divided into 3 sections- One for speckled sussex, one for buff orps, one for all of my chicks that haven't started laying yet. Outside in the run are three ducks and two turkeys and eight cockerels that are all on meat bird feed. In the chicken tractor are 3 sillies- OOPS! I meant silkies! And my truck trailer pen has 6 chicks in it that are barely old enough to go outside. I have some more separating to do before fall when I will be hatching out more eggs. Which means I have some building to do. I gotta get on it.
and add to that the chicks that get to go outside in the day and stay inside at night and the bigger chickens that free range during the day and have to be put up at night- and the ducks and the turkeys ( the turkeys have to be CARRIED -they don't even attempt to go to their pens) and the cleaning of the 5 current brooders...... now if we set it to music
I played musical coops for seemingly months and I tell you, it's a full time job. I am so happy now that everyone is living together...and I only have 18 birds. Can't imagine doing this for more. Anne