Question: I have a small of RIR pullets who are about to outgrow their coop. I'm planning to build a little coop for the 2 'leftovers', but here's my question: Will I, by doing this, create two separate environments for each coop and thus risk cross contaminating each flock as I work with them (I'm the only caregiver, presently)? Coop will only house five, not seven. If I can't safely divide the flock, then I'll process the two dear 'leftovers', then they won't be leftovers any more!!!
Can you not increase the size of your current coop - keep them separate if needed and eventually cut a door between the two or something like that?
I do/will have my chickens in 2 seperate, but adjoining coops. We have a coop/run for the 4 "big girls" who are 20 weeks old, and we got when they were 4 weeks old. When DH built their coop, he knew he wanted more babies, but didnt plan accordingly. We have 11 "babies" who are 10 weeks old living in temporary run off the shed. We were originally going to add on to the coop and run, and stick them all together. But we decided to keep them seperate for several reasons. The big girls are JUST starting to lay eggs and I really don't want to disrupt that in any way. Plus, we have a chicken-loving elderly couple neighbors who very much like it when the "big girls" come to visit them. SO if they are in a seperate run, we can let them out all day without having the 11 little hoodlums terrorizing the rest of the neighbors LOL As for cross-contamination, I never thought of that, but I dont think it would make much difference if they were in 2 seperate places as opposed to being all together. In fact, if one were to get sick, it might spread less, or slower between 2 houses. And if a predator gets into 1, you still have the other.
We just turned my office (a refurbished barn) Into a 12x14 coop-- our plan is to build a small coop by time anyone starts laying, and separate the boys from the girls.... If no Roo's, I'd go by age--- maybe let the older hens have a quiet place where the youn-un's aren't being too rambunctious? But I agree-- maybe just building an addition to the current coop would be less disruptive to them?
We have a modified wooden 'swingset' coop for the 7 standard birds and are using our little a-frame coop for my 6 banty birds (1 silkie & 5 d'uccles). These are side by side. They all free-range together so I don't think cross-contamination is an issue. And since they only free-range under supervision I know my banties aren't getting stepped on all day, which they would if they shared a coop with the 'big girls'. DH gripes that it would be easier to care for them if we put them all together. But I want my little chickers to be happy and I think that means living in a banty coop.
I have separate coops too. I have a coop for the large fowl, a banty cochin coop, and then 7 separate pens in my barn for my silkies and some other odds & ends. And then turkeys run the place and go wherever they want along with some young chickens that are running with the turkeys.
I have 2 coops, one for chickens and one for ducks. We'll probably end up building a small pen so that we can keep chicks separate from the older birds.
I have a HUGE old barn that I am slowly converting into a chicken house. I have already converted one stall and am in process of doing another now by dividing it into 2 runs. This will give me 3 seperate coops but all under the same roof. I also have 2 3x3x6 foot cages that I transition my chicks from brooder to grown-up coop in. When I'm done I plan on having 6 different pens with a small flock of pure bred chickens in each plus the 2 small cages for young birds. This way I can have variety but keep the strains pure.
I have 5 small coops, all in the same big run. We have added new coops as we added chickens. It works out well for us. Different age groups are in different coops, so no one is bullied at night. It looks like a little chicken apartment complex!
