So I have a flock of 15 ranging in age from 3.5 weeks to 1 week old. They get along just fine, but the bigs are starting to knock over the food and water containers. They are already raised up and a brick (and the littlest ones can JUST reach it). My question is, should I separate the biggest girls from the littles in another box with a larger food and water container or with this be detrimental to the mentality of the flock when I move them to the coop/run? (They're still in my garage with their heat lamp for the next several weeks).
Definitely keep them together. Otherwise you'll have hell to pay when you try to integrate them. Get some proper feed and water containers (preferably the hanging variety) and elevate them so the rim is at the elevation of the back of the smallest bird.
Look for a way to secure them, maybe using string around that brick If you are using those quart jar feeder and waterer you might slow them down by putting a funnel or something like that on top to keep them from trying to land on them and knocking them over that way. You also might want to increase the area they have to run about in. The more area they have the less likely they are to knock the waterers and feeders over. I would do everything I could to keep them together, even putting up with the mess they might make over the next couple of weeks. Reintegrating them could be messy.
Ditto on keeping them together....you don't want to have to reintegrate them later on. Lots of thing to do to keep food and water from spilling.....I love the horizontal nipples for watering, you can put them into all sorts of plastic jars. I've used blocks of wood to set containers up on and also for smaller chicks to step up on to reach. What does your brooder and equipment look like, can you post some pics?
