I created a separate pen just for the chicks to grow out in, and then try to keep another pen empty in case I need to separate birds, whether as designated culls, males from females, etc. It's still not a great setup....a definite work in progress...but progress is slow. Once I've selected my keepers and they're of sufficient age, I try to incorporate them into my other flocks asap. Here's a picture of the cabin that contains my 'growing out' birds.
You can see the NN Turken condo and run on the left side of the photo, and the cabin just after it was delivered and before I'd made any modifications. There are now pens at both ends with pop doors and I built outdoor runs on the right side.
This is the first pen I built for my Bielefelder flock. I hadn't installed the pop door or the nesting boxes yet because they were young, but you can get the idea of what the pens themselves are like.
There's now another pen to the right of this one where I isolate birds for a variety of reasons. It's the one pen that doesn't have a pop door to the outside.
And this show the outside with the outdoor pens that were still under construction at that time. I've now added the pop doors and the man doors so the run can be entered and secured. I don't have a top on the runs yet, but will be installing shade cloth for the hotter months. The pen on the right houses my Silkie and Frizzled EE girls since they're smaller. The pen on the left is larger and houses my growing-out birds
